The Halo Effect
by Agentweapon Proelium-Tempus
Summary: The UNSC dispatches a small task force to investigate an artefact with origins not of the Orion Arm. The Citadel Races, including the Systems Alliance, are in for an eye opener when two new players in galactic prowess are not only technologically superior but also not bound by the Element Zero and its constraints. Rated T for reasons. AU in both Halo and ME events.
1. I

**Read AN at bottom!**

 **Year 2952, UNSC Controlled Space.**

Blue and white tears in the fabric of space appeared over a small moon and its garden world. In all, there were only fifteen with numerous smaller corvette-sized craft. The newly designed _Titan-Class_ warship, which is a little over ten kilometers in length which is smaller than the _Infinity-Class_ by six kilometers, acting as the flagship. Its main purpose is to act as a bullet sponge and for more of a defensive warship. With two and a half meters of Titanium-F Battle Plate (which is ten times stronger than the Titanium-A armor and based off of Forerunner plating) and, like its more powerful cousin, had advanced energy shielding. For the primary armament, she utilized two Series-10 Magnetic Accelerator Cannons, each one being able hurl a 1000-ton ferric tungsten round capable of leveling a small city in a single shot. Across the span of the hull, over a thousand _Redapo_ missile pods covered it. Each pod containing fifty missiles and each missile carrying the explosive payload of five Archer Missiles. Using a M879 Fortitude Point Defense System which utilizes over nine hundred turrets, any boarding craft or fighter would have a difficult time to get past and deliver their complement. It also sported six energy projectors, two fore and two on each broadside.

Since the _Titan-Class_ acted more like an enlarged cruiser rather than a ship destroyer, which it still could do fairly well, its main hanger spanned the length of both sides of the ship with numerous _Jaeger Superiority Fighters_ and the aged _Pelican_ dropships. Hundreds of vehicles and supplies all lay strewn about the hanger as engineers or groups of marines moving them to various places in the ship. Like the _Infinity-Class,_ it featured a Spartan Deck. Though only containing a single company of Spartan-IVs for deployment and being much smaller than her cousin's. As its ground complement, with it being more defensive, utilized over ten thousand Marines, with a battalion of ODSTs. The _Titan-Class_ could even carry five frigate-weight warships with her. Even though that was a downgrade from the _Infinity-Class_ that could carry ten when it was half its size, she balanced it with extra hull plating.

Even though Humanity and the established Coalition of Species made many leaps and bounds in technology, the UNSC decided to keep the reliable _Pelican_ dropship and instead give it more roles in a combat scenario. Having been outfitted with energy shielding and more default armaments, than the transport used in 2552, now it was able to fly without an escort and rather than having fighters deliver payloads to ground targets, the transport could be used to deliver devastation to ground targets. While the transport could be a standalone on the ground, commanders still preferred to use fighter support, due to their higher mobility and able to carry much bigger bombs.

Acting as escorts for their heavier comrade, were two _Megalodon-Class_ Heavy Battlecruisers. Hulls spanning to a little over four and half kilometers, and boasting in a meter and a half of Titanium-F Battle Plate. Using armaments similar to the CCS-Battlecruiser, they utilized twin energy projectors and dual MACs. It also used over four hundred Redapo missile pods each sporting fifty missiles and a Fortitude Point Defense System, and eight Mk VI Hellfire Launchers, four on each side, or otherwise known as the Plasma Torpedo Launcher. It was reverse engineered from Covenant Plasma Launchers. It also utilized a single bay that was located under the rear of the warship for rapid insertion and maximum protection. There, hundreds of dropships and fighters were docked. Unlike its bigger cousin, it sported light vehicles such as the M42 Warthogs, the new APCs and LAVs, and Mongooses for the many infantry aboard and hardly any heavier vehicles. For its heavier ground complement it has the infamous Mammoth transports with few _Dominion_ Main Battle Tanks. It didn't carry extra warships within her though. The Battlecruisers main role was to establish a heavy ground presence as quickly as possible, sacrificing heavier vehicles for the mobility of the light vehicles and mobile command centers. For personnel, it has five thousand Marines with a hundred ODSTs.

Serving as the rest of the small group of warships are the _Zenith-Class_ Heavy Frigates. Five coming from the capital warship and the rest emerging from slipspace. Being about seven hundred meters in length and sporting a meter thick of Titanium-F Battle Plate, its primary role was orbital or atmospheric fire support. It utilizes a brigade of marines as a means of defense and offense. In dual hangers lay an assortment of vehicles, fighters and dropships for any support means. For armaments it uses a single Series-8 MAC, eighty Redapo missile pods with each pod containing twenty five missiles. Like all warships, it uses energy shielding as another means of protection.

Captain Jonathan Keith looked at the war map that displayed his small taskforce, tasked with,-no pun intended-escorting ONI science teams to a buried artefact among one of the many moons of Panora, a very recently established UEG colony. It was first discovered when a freighter from a mining company encountered strange readings at said moon and after reporting it the UNSC defense force, a taskforce was dispatched to investigate along with science teams to see if they could derive anything from said artefact. That where Captain Keith was at right now. His flagship, the _UNSC Atlas_ , "Comms, contact the CO of that defense group. They should've gotten the memo that we were coming. I just want to double check."

"Aye, Captain." He replied. The defense group consisted of seven ships with an _Endurance-Class_ Heavy Cruiser as its flagship, two being _Calamity-Class_ Heavy Destroyers and the rest being _Zenith-Class_ Heavy Frigates. Soon a holographic woman clad in the UNSC BDUs for Naval offices. She had short cut raven hair that was tied in a ponytail. She saluted which the Captain quickly returned. "Commander Christina Vaughn." He greeted. "Let's get right down to business shall we?"

"Yes, sir." She responded. "We've triangulated the position of the artefact and it appears to be encased in an ice moon. We've downed all space-capable ships in the planet, so we have free reign, sir."

"Send the coordinates and keep those craft down, we don't need any antsy civilians getting curious. That's our job. Keith out." He saluted which the commander of the defense group returned and the hologram frizzled out. "Helm, take us there."

About an hour later, they arrived at the ice moon, due to the slipspace drives needing to be recharged. "Keep us at a safe distance." He looked at the data that was being collected at the holotable and nodded. "Heather, it seems like it is not an installation, rather a device of some kind." A hologram materialized next to the captain. The female looked like an average scientist, complete with lab coat and glasses. She held a datapad in her arm with a stylus in the other hand.

"That's because it is." The hologram stated. The latest generation of Smart A.I. Now after four hundred years and extensive research into AI matrices with the help of metastable Forerunner "Monitor" AIs, AIs are instantly crated as 'metastable'. While not truly being metastable, they last for an estimated millennia before going rampant and also having a greater chance of reaching true metastability during 'Rampancy'. "I can access the systems and do a hard restart to activate it."

He thought for a moment. "Ready all ships, I want all weapons hot just in case it's hostile." He shouted.

"Shields hundred percent and MACs ready." The captain nodded. "Do it."

He observed as the massive moon began crumbling apart and massive chunks of ice started peeling away from the core of the moon. After a few moments a massive white and blue device resembling a tuning for appeared out of the core. After a few more seconds the rings in the center of the 'fork' began revolving around each other, igniting a glowing blue core. "All ships hold position. No one is to get near that thing without my express permission." He turned towards the tactical map in the center of the bridge. "Heather what am I looking at?"

"Nothing of Forerunner origin that's for sure. It doesn't resemble anything of that nature. The energy in the core appears to be dark matter."

"Is it safe to study?"

"Should be. But I'd be wary. We have no idea what this could do."

"Have the _Phoenix_ and _Zenith_ escort the teams in closer and we will go back to the defense fleet."

"Aye, Captain." She said. Thirteen white and blue cuts in the fabric of space opened up as the warships moved in them and disappeared with the portals closing behind them. After, they left the small flotilla of ships along with the two frigates and moved closer to the artefact.

 **c('-'c)**

Captain Julianvius Achamus, did his equivalent to a yawn as he sifted thru the data that went on his omni-tool. Being part of a small patrol fleet stationed at the edge of Turian space and monitoring a series of Relays to make sure no species attempted to activate them, was the main purpose of the fleet he was part of. He was a part of a patrol fleet that consisted of forty two frigates, seven cruisers and a dreadnought.

After the attack on the Citadel, the Councilors along with the newly human appointed one, decided that militarization of the races be increased due to the security risks that the Geth posed. While not overly done, the Turians and the Systems Alliance being the key military players were granted a cap of fifty dreadnoughts each while both the Asari and Salarians getting thirty each and the other races being able to build ten each.

After a few months the Turians were able to field two new dreadnoughts with several new ones under construction _._ Thought Achamus. He was in charge of the small patrol fleet. He was generally regarded as a dishonorable turian due to him being involved in some more than illegal activities with pirates and such. Being part of a high status family though allowed him some leeway but it got him sent out here instead of being on the hunt for the pirates that sold him out. He generally was an overall hater of all things not turian and had a serious disregard for humans. He had several family members at Panora and they were killed by them.

"Sir, the Relay is coming online!" A bridge officer announced, interrupting the captain's thoughts. His mandibles twitched into a smile. While he hoped it wasn't another Rachni-esque race and hell-bent on their destruction, it could be just the opportunity he needed to get out of this wretched part of space. If he brought these newcomers in as a client race of the Turian race, he could finally retire and return to Palaven as a rich turian.

"Ready all weapons. I want to be ready for whatever comes through it." He shouted.

"Ships are coming through! Two cruiser analogues and twenty two frigate analogues came through!" Another officer yelled. The size of a small strike force. "They are out of range of weapons but we can still detect them. We will have visuals in a few seconds."

"Sir, you may want to see this." A turian said. The captain got up from his command chair to see what the officer wanted to show him. "I'm getting absolutely no readings of eezo on those ships."

"Move forward and prepare to engage."

"Sir! They are opening fire!"

"Impossible! We are out of weapons range."

 **c('-'c)**

Commander Rory Jay of the _UNSC Zenith,_ the first of the _Zenith-Class_ Heavy Frigates, always got the boring jobs. Getting to act as escort for the science teams was never fun. Luckily as soon as they approached the artefact, it turned out it was more of transportation device when his small group of ships were slingshot all the way to who knows where. _So much for studying the device._ He sarcastically thought as he groaned from banging his head against the deck of the bridge.

"Systems check!" He shouted as he shook his head, attempting to rid himself of the blurry vision that he received from the small concussion.

"Life support's at optimal levels." An officer called out after getting himself back in his chair. He noticed that most of the bridge was in a state of disarray when they were launched at unexpected speeds.

"Weapons are online and shields at ninety-eight percent." Another called out. They proceeded to call off their respective stations.

"Sir, The _Phoenix_ and the science tea-"

"I'm reading ships off our starboard side several hundred klicks out! A light destroyer, several light frigates with the rest likely a scout fleet or research fleet." An officer cut him off.

"Their weapons are heated up! They are hostile!" Another yelled.

The commander quickly went into action. "Get the science teams out of here. See if they can use the device again! We have no idea where the hell we are and I don't want to risk slipspace! Coordinate with the _Phoenix_ to provide cover fire!"

"MAC's ready."

"Target the closest ship and open fire." The ship shuddered as the eight hundred ton round left the barrel. Not waiting to see the results, he continued barking out orders. "Unlock Redapo pods A through G and target the frigates."

Dozens of pods opened across both frigates and unleashed a torrent of missiles. Not wanting to stay around to see if they were effective or not, the _Phoenix_ and the _Zenith_ lurched as they did a one-eighty and sped towards the artefact before they were also slingshot back to the other side.

 **c('-'c)**

"Get the GUARDIAN system online and take out those missiles." Achamus shouted out.

A wave of red lasers lit up the space as the small turian fleet attempted to destroy as many incoming projectiles as they possible could. The systems could only take down so many as a few got through and impacted all across the fleet.

The dreadnought Achamus was in shuddered as it took a few of the missiles. "Status report!"

"The _Genesis_ and _Terigan_ have kinetic barriers at seventy-three percent. The _Antioch_ and _Nemesis_ are reporting hull breaches on multiple levels. Thirteen frigates went down to their main weapons and the missile volley, lost with all hands." An officer solemnly said. There was an honorary moment of silence before the captain began barking out orders.

"Alert the Hierarchy to send reinforcements and Council we are going to capture their base of operations and make sure this doesn't happen again. For now, see to it that we enact a defensive formation around the Relay until reinforcements do arrive." He said as they all quickly went to work on their various jobs. For all he knew they barely discovered the relay.

 **c('-'c)**

Commander Jay stood via hologram at the meeting. They contacted HIGHCOM and while reinforcements were on the way, they were literally on the edge of known space. So the nearest UNSC battle group wouldn't be there for another week, two if they were picking up a flotilla of Coalition ships even with the latest slipspace technology, which could travel to a thousand light years per day. He was with Captain Keith as well as Commander Layman and General Walsh of the garrison stationed at Panora.

"So are you sure you acted in self-defense?" The Captain questioned. The commander had a high possibility of getting court-martialed over all of this.

The commander was beyond nervous but he was still sticking to the facts. "They were on attack vectors and had their weapons primed and ready. I gave the order to open fire as soon as we determined they were hostile."

The captain stroked his stubble that was his beard. Even though the General outranked him, he was patiently waiting for the captain's judgment. Since Keith was a veteran of both the Human-Covenant War, Human/Sanghelli-Flood War and the Storm War. A series of battles against the Storm Covenant and the other splinter factions, which had dwindled down to minor skirmishes. The general was still rather young compared to other officers in the military and the war against what remained of the Flood. Due to huge medical advancements the average person could live to an estimated one thousand and five hundred before dying of old age and the captain was about four hundred and twenty one, while still looking about thirty.

"We will have to hold out then. Until reinforcements arrive." He quickly added. "General, get the population to the emergency bunkers and prepare your defenses. I will send my men down there once we see what kind of force arrives." Walsh nodded and saluted while his hologram dissipated.

"Commander Jay, forward me all the data you have on this new species and join the defense."

"Sir." He saluted as his hologram fizzled out.

"Commander Vaughn, deploy your ground complement and then I will be taking command of your ships."

"Yes, sir." She wasn't about to argue with someone who had more combat experience than her. She saluted and her hologram blinked out. He moved to the tactical map, where it showed real time imaging of the small flotilla in battle formation with the _Atlas_ in the middle. "Bring the _Eradicator_ to port and the _Executioner_ to our the _Gladius_ under us with both her destroyers." He watched as the blue triangles that indicated the larger capital warships move into formation with two green ones being the Heavy Destroyers. "Split the frigates up and put them on our flanks." The smaller green triangles moved to their respective sides. Out of the initial defense fleet, hundreds of pelicans containing troops, vehicles and equipment zoomed to the surface. The defensive formation was a regular one and he could've just said All ships in Alpha Formation 6, but he preferred to keep himself into specifics. "And now we wait."

The _Endurance-Class_ Heavy Cruiser is capital warship, reminiscent of the _Marathon-Class._ It spanned six kilometers in length with Titanium-F Battle Plate. It sported four Series-8 Heavy MACs with eight hundred and fifty Redapo missile pods with fifty missiles each. With a Fortitude Point Defense System and advanced energy shields and armor two meters thick any missiles or attacks against the superstructure. As its ground complement it used over seven thousand marines with three hundred ODSTs. Its hangers were also filled with vehicles and fighters.

He looked at what he had as ground forces aboard his small group. A little over thirty thousand marines, fifty three _'Mammoth'_ M610 Seigework/Ultra-Heavy Mobile Anti-Aircraft Weapons Platforms, four hundred and twenty M850 _Dominion_ Main Battle Tanks, seven hundred M42 Warthogs and over a thousand Mongooses. _**(Mongeese?)**_

The marines received a whole lot of attention at the end of the Storm War, as they were heated disputes that they were being used as cannon fodder. But that wasn't the issue, the issue was that they didn't have equipment to keep up with the century. So the good scientists and researchers at RnD put their heads together with the Huragok and engineers of the developed a personal energy shield for them. Granted, they weren't as good as the MJOLINR hardlight shields that the Spartans have, but it was enough to minimize casualties by twenty percent. It was designed to give a few extra seconds for the soldiers to get back into cover and allow them to slowly and methodically push forward. While they could not stand to sustained heavy fire for more than a few seconds it allowed them to get out of harm's way.

The new version of the _Mammoth_ also utilized a 'Mini-MAC' for fire support. Acting as a mobile command center, the heavy vehicle uses a meter and a half Titanium-F Battle Plate in the midsection of the center for protection of tactical command. A heavy missile turret dominates each corner on the top deck of the mobile structure with a heavy mounted machine gun on each midsection for anti-personnel and air duties. Its bottom motor pool is able to hold multiple LAVs and up to three combat ready platoons of marines.

The new Warthogs has two variants, the armored personnel carrier variant or the light reconnaissance vehicles. The APC variant is, like the variant suggests, able to carry a platoon of combat ready troops into combat. Sporting a dual barreled anti-armor energy beam cannon and a single heavy machine gun for anti-infantry but relatively light armor, it's able to hold its own against other heavily armored vehicles until better support can arrive to assist. The recon variant is almost like the Warthogs of the Human-Covenant War with only small changes. They received better armor and, with the induction of directed energy weapons with the usage of plasma, they now use heavy plasma cannons, known as the M250H Heavy Plasma Repeater. It is also now slightly wider, to prevent flipping but still contains the e-brake to allow for sharp turns. The back section of the recon variant having extended rails with interior armor plates that goes up to the operator's waist for more protection and to prevent the gunner from falling off the vehicle should he or she be shot.

The _Dominion_ Main Battle Tank superseded the _Scorpion_ MBT. Going off the designs of the _Grizzly_ MBT, it looked a lot like the heavily modified _Scorpion_. Keeping the dual barreled designs and very heavy armor, it's able to take a ratio against the dreaded _Wraiths_ one to three respectively. Instead, of using energy shields however, it utilizes thicker armor plating for defense.

The captain sighed as he sifted through the data. It was going to be a long couple of days.

 **c('-'c)**

Captain Achamus smiled to himself internally. While the Council still hasn't said anything regarding the matter on what happened, the Hierarchy basically said war by supplying two fleets worth of ships and troops. It did seem that these other species was the one that fired the first shot and that Achamus was working off of instinct and the turian believed that he was. No one that barely achieved spaceflight could have the tech that could detect their weapons from that distance much less have the range to attack. So either they were extremely cocky with their weapons or the mass accelerator was extremely experimental due to the range and amount of kinetic energy delivered. Something the Hierarchy could definitely benefit from and improve upon.

With two fleets worth plus the remnants of his fleet, the numbered in the hundreds. Over a hundred and fifty frigates, fifty three cruisers and two dreadnoughts, they would definitely be able to take their homeworld. They assumed so, due to the size of the fleet that went through the relay. Usually, a fleet or two would be present when activating a new relay and if this species did the same then that would mean that was all the ships they had.

Achamus was in charge of the armada due to his encounter with them. "Status report!" He called out.

"All ships are green and good to go." An officer replied. "Awaiting your command."

"All ships through the relay." The captain ordered. In that second all the warships moved towards the Relay and were all enveloped in an energy that propelled them to their destination.

"Sir, we are reading multiple signatures around the planet. They are in a defensive formation." An officer called out.

"Seems they are waiting for us? How many and of what class?" He answered.

"Twenty two ships. Wait a second." He paused. "This doesn't seem right."

"What is it?"

"Well, twenty two ships and what seems to be a space elevator going to a space station, Sir." He responded, somewhat nervous. "There seems to be sixteen cruiser sized vessels of the same make and size of the first two we encountered. Two dreadnoughts measuring to what scans are saying two kilometers, another two measuring to four and a half kilometers. Another dreadnought measuring to six kilometers and the one that appears to be the flagship at ten kilometers. The station itself looks to be around about a kilometer large."

"By the Spirits..." Achamus exclaimed.

"Sir, I'm reading hundreds if not thousands of dropships being deployed to the planet's surface, also reading hundred of fighter-sized craft being deployed as well."

"They seem to be content to just wait though."

"I'm receiving a transmission from the opposing fleet."

"Patch it through." He ordered

A human male appeared on screen, shocking the entire crew, but all did not let it show. He had black hair that was clean cut all the way around and a stubble for a reappearing beard. His vivid blue eyes showed weariness yet also wisdom and courage. He also had a face that betrayed no emotion, it almost appeared as if he was _bored_ yet ready for anything that may occur. _If he and I ever become friends, I have to remember not to play poker with him._ Achamus thought to himself.

He was clad in a grey and olive uniform with a bracer and a pauldron on what Achamus assumed to be his dominate arm. A large collar guard protected the human's neck, upper arm and shoulder. The arm that had the collar guard, bore his rank that was right below it. His left breast bore ribbons and two gold medals. On his thigh there was a weapon strapped tightly around. _"This is Captain Jonathon Keith of the UNSC Atlas in charge of the defense of Panora and representing the United Nations Space Command and, by extension, the United Earth Government. To whom am I speaking to?"_ A strong masculine voice said. Julianvius could detect the authority this man held in the way he spoke. The Turian Captain could sense that he was a man that commanded the respect of hundred if not thousands of men and women. What had Achamus confused was that they were humans and another government going by the same planet's name. He quickly shook the thought away and moved to more pressing matters.

 _Either their translators could actually work in a first contact scenario or they are employing cyber warfare._ Achamus thought but assumed a little bit of both but he decided to humor the man. "This is Captain Julianvius Achamus, in charge of this fleet."

 _"Captain Achamus, I understand that this fleet is in response to our activation of the transportation device and also firing upon your ships."_ The Captain said but before Achamus could respond, he continued. _"However, know this we are aware that your small expedition was weapons primed and on attack vectors targeting the science groups under my jurisdiction. The commander in charge retaliated first as per our doctrine."_ He paused for a second before continuing again. _"The men and women at my command are prepared to defend this colony from any attack from you and we will do so until the last man falls."_

Achamus was dumbfounded. He was struck speechless and his pride took a brutal hit. Here he was _again_ being at the receiving end of a threat from _another_ human. Oh how he despised the species, at least the Asari had better looking women. Granted, they are all female and that was his opinion. "You destroyed over a dozen of my ships and dozens more were killed in that attack. And you believe that your big ships and threats will scare us? Hah! We outnumber you seven to one, size only goes so far. You expect us to let your attack go unopposed? Even if you are humans at least the Systems Alliance would cower at the might of the Hierarchy. I will see that you and your meager defense forces see that first hand."

He seemed a little confused when Achamus mentioned Systems Alliance and _his_ species name before he even learned anything about them but quickly shrugged it off. _"I have fought dozens of battle where I have been outnumbered twenty to one against an enemy that made me and many other veteran soldiers have their worst nightmares come to life. You, Captain Achamus, don't scare me."_ He paused, quickly composing himself and, after taking a heavy breath, continued. Achamus could see beads of sweat coming down his forehead. _"If it's war you want then so be it."_ And the transmission was cut.

 _ **Well there you have it! The first of a superior text that'll be remembered by Plato himself! (I'm pretty sure-Plato-that, that guy is dead. Mind that I said pretty sure *strokes imaginary beard and gives the crazy eye*) I would like to apologize for my false interpretation of time as well.**_

 _ **Anyways remember that this will be a renewed version of the original. So Chapter sizes will vary from a minimum of 3k to god knows what. Think of it like the Spartan Program but stopping at II. The original was didn't meet expectations and was ultimately scrapped but this one will be the Spartan-II of The Halo Effect!**_

 _ **Ah yes. Master Chiefers hasn't been found. (Yet) Uh Major casualties at the Second Battle of Earth resulting again in the Ur-Didact's defeat but at the cost of over three-fourths of the Home Fleet NOT including the UNSC Infinity and half the Sanghelli Fleet and resulting in the beginning of the Human/Sanghelli-Flood War which will be going into more detail later. The Spirit of Fire is also out there (somewhere).The SPARTAN-IIs that have been cryogenically preserved have been revived and finished the augmentation procedure that resulted in nine more deaths and four more "wash outs" while the rest again being trained by CPO Mendez. Black and Gray Teams are still in action as well as Blue and Noble.**_

 _ **Mind you, when we get to the diplomatic talks between the Halo and Mass Effect Universes the chapter will be deathly wrong to the point where I'll have the Council covering EVERY. SINGLE. DAMN. DETAIL. ABOUT. THE. UNSC. AND. COALITION.**_

 _ **Ahem. Uhm what else... Ah yes...Chapters will also take longer to be pumped out. Junior Year is in three days and I finally have a job so... I'm expecting chapter to take anywhere from a month to a month and a half each.**_

 _ **Until Next Time!**_


	2. II

"Sound General Quarters! I want all hands to battle stations yesterday!" Keith shouted. Klaxons started going off as military personnel began running from whatever they were doing to their designated stations. Keith moved over to the tactical map where it displayed his forces facing off the advancing horde of warships. He thought over how that conversation sort of played into his favor. For one, he was able to have Heather hack into their systems and download everything they had ever so discreetly. It also bought ground forces more time to prepare the inevitable landing of their troops because as much as he hated it, he knew that with all with his experience he couldn't stop them all without reinforcements.

He rubbed his eyes. The only thing that he wished would've went different was the hothead and egotistic person that was Commander Rory Jay. He should've contacted the species before firing his salvo and attempted peaceful solution rather than provoke them. Yes, combat doctrine dictated that the UNSC use fast and heavy hitting tactics but he didn't even stick around to see the effect of his weapons. Now, it was going to bite him and Keith in the ass. For the commander, he was going to get court-martialed and most likely dishonorably discharged and the only reason he was in the Navy and how he got to such a high rank was due to him having friends in high places. Keith decided to remedy that situation of insubordination and glory hunting now. "Heather, get me a line to both the CO and XO of the _Zenith._ "

In a few seconds, two holograms showed up on the holotable, one of a middle aged man that looked to be in his twenties and the other of Commander Jay. "Commander, as head of Battle Group 21. I hereby relinquish you of your command of the Heavy Frigate _UNSC Zenith_. You are also under arrest for insubordination and for the starting of a war that could've been avoided. "

" _Wha-"He_ was cut off as the two bridge security put their hands on his shoulders and dragged him out of the bridge. His hologram fizzled out.

"Lieutenant Spencer Ward, under UNSC Article 754-1H you are hereby in promoted to the rank of Commander and are now in command of the _UNSC Zenith._ That is all."

" _Sir."_ He saluted before his hologram blinked out.

"Now then to the more pressing matters now." He cracked his knuckles.

"MACs are at full charge."

"All forces engage." He ordered suddenly the space between the opposing forces lit up as massive tungsten rounds impacted all the turian fleet, completely destroying twenty in the first volley. Some of the smaller corvette weight ships were able to maneuver out of the way of the large rounds. Only three frigate weight ships were destroyed and the rest being corvette sized.

 **c('-'c)**

Achamus knew right away that this battle was not going to go the way he had planned as he watched the superstructure of another cruiser collapse on itself. He had to think of something quick or this would be Shanxi all over again but without the Turians ever getting control of the planet.

"Sir, the Hierarchy is sending the fourth patrol fleet as reinforcements. That is all we are getting."

He nodded. He sent a report that they would need another fleet to provide reinforcement and logistical support to take the planet. He didn't mention that they were humans or that would be one hell of a political shitstorm that would not only get Council involved but also tarnish his reputation so far that he would be grounded on his homeworld for the rest of his life. He would get the revenge he so desired.

He decided that if he ever wanted a chance of winning this he would have to get boots on the ground. So he opened up a comm channel to half his ships. "Perform a small FTL jump past their defenses and land forces on the on the planet. The rest of us will perform another and take this fight to knife-fighting range and distract them." He ordered a trio of missiles impacted against the dreadnought. So far they had only shown the use of missiles and a definitely perfected mass accelerator cannon.

"Get all fighters and interceptors ready! We need to distract them and be ready to deploy boarding parties onto the space station. We may be able to ferry our own equipment down if we take control of it."

"Yes, sir." The bridge officer relayed all the orders to all the pilots and troops stationed on the dreadnought.

 **c('-'c)**

Bright flashing alarms entered the marine's vision as his HUD beeped on. Will, and the rest of his battalion were in charge of the defense of _The Cloud,_ the space station connected to the space elevator. They were put at Alert Two which was in put on if enemy forces were present and second to Alert Three and was only used if the station was being boarded.

He had just popped a power cell into his MAPRS48, or Main Assault Plasma Repeater Series 48, when the dumb AI in control of _The Cloud_ known as Angel, announced, "Alert 3 is now in effect. All combat personnel report to your designated checkpoints and non-essential personnel please exit to the emergency bunker."

"Alright you lousy troopers! Head to Hanger Bay 2 and reinforce 6th Platoon!" His sergeant barked before cocking his APR and leading the charge of several Army Troopers including himself down to the hanger.

Will could hear the distinct sound of a M250H being discharged and explosions. He looked out the a nearby long window that he was jogging by to get to his destination and could see the defense fleet doing their best to stem the tide of enemy warships bypassing the defense and deploying their own shuttles to the surface. He saw an energy projector being shot at one of the two light destroyers before the window ended and arrived to a group of marines who had the elevator in lockdown. They looked like they had just been in a firefight as some had scratches and light burns. There were only four of them.

"Troopers! Where's your CO?" His sergeant quickly asked.

"Hanger 2, dead." One responded.

"You're the rest 6th Platoon?" Will asked.

"That I know of. Our CO had us reinforcing 7th as well in the hanger over when they were being overrun. For all I know they could be dead."

"And you're securing this elevator?" The sergeant asked.

"Natural chokepoint. If this point falls they have access to the rest of the critical hubs as well as the main elevator."

"Son, I like you're thinking. You men are now under my command. You, troopers get a rest in the rear. Will get your machine gun squad up here. Techy, get your ass on those elevator controls. See if you can delay them a little longer."

"Aye, sir." Will said. "You heard the sergeant, secure this elevator!" Will shouted. He received a chorus of yessirs and they all proceeded to entrench themselves in the corridor. As second in command, will had the privilege of relaying the orders. The sergeant went to talk to the survivors of the 6th and Will joined him.

"So what happened?" The sergeant asked.

"We were posted in the hanger, as you know when the first shuttle came in." He started and took a swig of a bottle of water. "One of our guys had a _Hades_ on him. I feel bad for the first three shuttles coming in." He allowed a small smile. "Then we ran out of those rockets and some knucklehead decided to shoot a shuttle and give away his guys position. The shuttle swiveled around to reveal a mounted side gun. You can guess what happened next.

Their bay doors opened and we all jumped out and unloaded on them. They have some sort of shield when we used frags. Although it did kill some of them; some of the shrapnel was sort of negated by them."

"I'm pretty sure they are kinetic barriers and not energy shields." Another survivor interjected.

"Anyways it wasn't until after we reinforced the 7th when we were overrun."

"And are sure that they are going to come on this level and not the upper levels?"

"Angel may not be that smart but he is making sure that they all come on this level only." The apparent leader answered.

"The level where all critical systems are located?" The sergeant asked.

"And where the most armed personnel are." Will answered in realization.

"Yeah. If they want this station they are going to have to go against two hundred other guys who are armed to the teeth and have orders to fight tooth and nail for every inch of this place." The trooper said with a grin. "Something I also plan to do." He readied his weapon.

"2nd Platoon, first wave is incoming!" Techy announced and backed away from the doors.

"Prep grenades!"

 **c('o'c)**

Turian shuttles descended on Panora's surface, landing in many sectors of the only major city on the planet and deploying their squads of turian soldiers and equipment. The defenders though were also spread out all across the city and as soon as the first transports landed all hell broke loose. Hidden anti-aircraft emplacements were unveiled and unleashed torrents of flak bringing down tens of dropships as they attempted to swerve out of the way.

Ambushes of UNSC marines and army units against the turians made them think twice before going down a street. Key buildings were transformed into massive bunkers when marines used them as their ambush points, quickly unleashing a rocket into the middle of their ranks before opening up with energy bolts all around the advancing turians making any and every intersection a kill zone. A _Dominion_ Main Battle Tank would release its armament before switching to its heavy mounted machine gun to run down any retreating turians before they could regroup. Even as the anti-air emplacements were taken over it was not without heavy fighting. With the UNSC Army and Marine Corps fighting for every block and street, every successful assault the turians made also came with a price. Dozens of both turian and human bodies lay strewn about the entire cityscape.

"Incoming!" A marine yelled as he and several others dove or ducked into cover. A round from a Mako tank left its barrel and impacted against the debris of both cars and cement that they were using for cover. A few marines popped out of cover and sprayed their rifles before having to duck down again due to weathering thermal rounds impacting all around them. Some of their shields flared as they were hit, something that would've usually been potentially fatal hits without shields. "Where's our support?!" He shouted to the other marine crouching next to him.

"How the hell-" He was cut off as a sniper round entered his helmet and exited through the visor leaving brain matter all over the asphalt. The echo of the bullet carrying.

"SNIPER!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. Every grunt's worst enemy. Immediately, another marine hit the pavement as a sniper round entered his heart, quickly breaking his energy shields and killing him.

A _Dominion_ tank the zoomed into the fray, smashing through and crushing several destroyed vehicles in the process, and located the flash that emanated from every sniper rifle that wasn't modified. The twin barrels let out canister round that quickly destroyed that section of the building and anything within fifteen meters. The turret swiveled to a hostile Mako and unloaded a duo of high explosive anti-tank rounds into the lines of the turians, exploding the tank. Any turian that was close enough to the explosion was engulfed by the expanding flames and killed.

The turians began retreating with the main battle tank firing on them as they left. With a sigh of relief, the marine slowly got out of cover. He went on his platoon comm. The fighting had scattered all the men and women under his command, after the lieutenant was killed in a firefight.

"Sound off."

 _"Deck here."_

 _"Pamela is wounded and Luis is down. Jake is all good."_

 _"Jaime is good, though low on ammo."_

 _"Barry and Garret are up."_

 _"Oliver good."_

There was a pause. That's it? Forty one men and women reduced to eight and a tank. Either that or they were so spread out that the comms didn't reach that far. "Alright Deck go to Jake and help with Pamela, bring her to the tank. The rest of you come to my position."

After a few minutes, they all arrived. The turians had yet to do another push into the residential district and he got word that they were still regrouping. _"UNSC forces in the residential district fall back to 51st avenue. We are going to hold there until reinforcements arrive."_ His comm said aloud. "Looks like we're going to 51st Ave." Jake stated.

"Yo, tank driver." The marine asked over his comm.

 _"Yes, Sergeant?"_

"We're falling back to 51st Ave. Mind if we hitch a ride?" The sergeant asked rhetorically. The marines we're already climbing on.

 _"I don't see why not. But try not to scratch the paint."_ he responded sarcastically, earning a few chuckles from the marines.

The ride back was uneventful, despite the roaring of fighters engaged in a fierce dogfight in the skies sending debris and wreckages of destroyed air vehicles into both lines of troops. "Mavor, what's up with the civilians?" Garret suddenly asked. "The emergency bunkers are behind raptor lines."

Mavor, the Sergeant answered, not missing a beat. "We evacuated them as soon as their forces started landing in force over there. An armored column took them to HQ, they'll be safe there."

The grunt nodded. The squad knew he had family here and he was only looking out for them.

After another few moments they started seeing UNSC activity. Dozens of soldiers and a few tanks formed a crescent shaped defensive line with the two points facing towards the turian lines. They rolled in seeing a hastily erected field hospital. If Mavor had to guess he would assume that there were a little over two hundred combat ready soldiers and about sixteen tanks with three being repaired and many warthogs of both variants. He wondered where all the marines were as there were almost all Army troopers. The rest of the personnel were either too wounded to be of any use or were resting up before their next orders. The tank started to move to get rearmed. As soon as it stopped, Mavor began issuing orders.

"Dent and Jake take Pamela to get check out."

"Aye sir."

"The rest of you see if you can scrounge up some ammo."

"Sir." They nodded and went off to various places. Mavor had to find the CO. He approached a rifleman that was sitting down with his helmet between his feet and his head against his arms that were propped up against his knees.

"Trooper." He said and the man looked up groggily. "Where's the CO of this camp."

"Over there." The trooper pointed to a large tent. Most of the _Mammoths_ were where the heavy fighting was so where the lighter concentration of enemy forces were was where the UNSC only got tents for their command center. "You can't miss 'im." He had a Scottish accent and the sergeant nodded and thanked him before walking to the destination.

The tent was filled with various men and women. Mavor guessed they were the CO's aides as barely any had officer ranks, despite one lieutenant. So he assumed a brigadier general was in charge. Mavor found him shouting at someone via hologram. After it was finished he sighed and rubbed his neck.

"General." Mavor saluted. Since he was indoors and not outside he could salute. "Staff Sergeant Julian Haverson reporting for duty!"

He saluted back. "Marine. Where's your CO?"

"Lieutenant Berth is dead, sir. I'm next in command of 22nd Platoon."

"Damn. How many men?"

"Eight, including me, sir." Mavor responded.

The general nodded. "As you can see, most of us are Army. Not a lot of Marines in this district. They are taking the heavy fighting downtown."

"Well, sir I'm ready. Just point and give me a gun and I'm on my way." Mavor jokingly said. Though the serious face on the general showed he was not amused. "Sorry, sir."

"I can't complain. If you can fight then you are almost already better than my lieutenant." The general responded. He moved over to his tactical map. "Now I know you marines ain't Spartans or ODSTs but you can get the job done well enough." He started as he brought up the display of the residential district. "Our scouts spotted an enemy resource depot here." A red dot highlighted the targeted area. The place was the school. "I want you, your men and fifty of my troopers and two tanks to go and smoke them out of there. It's about damn time we go on the offensive."

 **~('o'~)**

"Sir, three field outposts have fallen in the last hour and three more are under heavy attack as we speak. We are losing ground and our foothold in the city fast! Any Turian that was on the space station is either dead or captured." A bridge officer yelled.

Achamus internally grimaced. The four fleets combined could only destroy four of their cruisers and heavily damage both of their smallest dreadnoughts and that was when they concentrated all their also seemed that their ground forces were also more than a match for turian discipline as he was also getting reports of turians surrendering.

He snarled. They had to retreat and prepare for the Council to intervene. Even if they were human he could use that as leverage to get back at both the Systems Alliance and this _UNSC_ when they joined the Citadel races.

"Retreat! All ships fall back to the other side of the relay!"

"What about the ground forces? We can't just leave them."

"We have to else we risk more losses!" He barked out. The bridge didn't utter a word as they began recalling the remnant of the fleets. They did a small FTL jump out of range of their weapons and began their weak fly back to the relay and back into friendly territory.

"As soon as we exit FTL, contact the Council and notify them of what occurred." He sighed. The Hierarchy is going to have him grounded for the rest of his life for this blunder of military prowess. Over three hundred vessels against a defense fleet of twenty two ships, what this _UNSC_ lacked in numbers they made up for in firepower and the durability of their ships and the flexibility of their troops.

 **(O_O)**

Captain Keith watched as the last of the alien fleet jump into FTL and the bridge erupted into cheers. The captain sighed in relief and chuckled when he was clapped on the back by his XO. The stress and adrenaline of battle leaving him and allowing him to relax.

"Attention!" He shouted while it took a few seconds longer than usual all of the bridge was in total silence awaiting orders from their captain. "Heather open a fleet wide comm."

" _You're on, sir."_

He composed himself before starting to speak, "You all did a good job today. I personally commend you for doing your duty to the UNSC and UEG." He paused. "But you know as well as I do that we are not out of the wake yet. As much as I hate the thought, this could end up in another Covenant War. I want round the clock patrols on the artefact. It seems that they use that as their secondary form of FTL. Tend to your wounded and coordinate search and rescue for survivors. That is all." The line was cut.

"Captain, I have General Walsh on the line."

"Patch him through."

In a few seconds the Army CO appeared as a hologram. "Sir." Keith saluted.

"Captain, nice speech." The general greeted. "Let us hope that it does not come down to a war."

"Well after a day of heavy fighting, it and getting their asses handed to them. I would hope that it doesn't come down to that. As you know we barely achieved Pre-war levels and the commander had to screw it all up. Even with the Coalition, we don't have the numbers to combat them all."

"All, sir?" The general asked perplexed.

"Heather managed to hack into their systems during the battle and downloaded everything she could. It would seem that the Turians are part of a collective group of aliens and this force that arrived was only a fraction of their entire army."

"Hmm." The general said. "And they may call upon their allies to assist them. By the way, they left a lot of their ground forces here. When their ride home left I started receiving reports of entire bases surrendering, I'm keeping them at the outskirts of the city."

"I'll send teams down to assist."

The general nodded. "Any help is appreciated."

"Officers, if you'll excuse me." Heather interjected. "I didn't want to bother you but this calls for your ears." Both of the officers turned towards her. "It would seem that we are not the only Humans in the universe."

There was a pause before the general asked, "Can you please clarify?"

"The Humans or Systems Alliance, in their galaxy, has almost a near identical history and solar system up to ours up until 2148 where an expedition to Mars discovered the ruins of an ancient race known as the Protheans. After that Humanity basically came together in an "us vs. them" ultimatum to form the Systems Alliance, the military, exploration and economic spearhead of their Humanity."

"What happened to them?"

"2148 marked a huge turning point, technologically speaking, for them. The ruins revealed a new element known as Element Zero and they accomplished feats overnight where it would've taken the centuries. They then opened up the Charon Relay that allowed them to expand into other regions of space. Their first contact was also with the Turians but was relatively light in our terms with only three hundred casualties and slightly more turian and it being known as the First Contact War."

"Three hundred? We lost at least a thousand on the ground with even more wounded. They seemed a lot more aggressive here than then."

"Agreed. It was the same up here as well but I lost four of my frigates and both of the _Preston-Classes_ are heavily damaged." Keith remarked. "That seemed more like a skirmish rather than a war."

"Anyways, getting off topic here." She waved her holographic hands in front of the military men to get their attention. "This Council, which was then comprised of three races, quickly defused the intergalactic war that both sides were prepping for. The Asari, who are a mono-gendered race and the diplomats. The Salarians, an amphibian like race who are extremely intelligent and serve as the brains of the whole operation. And the Turians, who we encountered today and provide the majority of the military and peacekeeping forces." She brought up pictures of all the races. "The rest only have embassies on the Citadel."

"So eight hundred years later, where does this 'Systems Alliance' stand at today?" The general asked.

"Actually they are behind us by quite a margin." She chuckled. "Their calendar reads at the beginning of 2185." The eyes of the both the captain and general almost bulged out of their sockets.

"It took the UNSC to get interstellar travel a hundred years after that."

"They currently have a seat on the Council that is occupied by one Donnel Udina, the Councilor plays the political game."

The captain looked thoughtful before saying, "So they are part of this collective of aliens?"

"Yes, they are more trusting of other species unlike us where our first contact ignited a three decade war with another collective of aliens hell-bent on our destruction and ended up with everyone giving each other the cold shoulder for nearly two hundred years before the tensions even began to slowly diffuse. Even now, there is still animosity between us two even though we are allies." She paused before continuing. "I have to say, these humans are more docile than we are. While not overly submissive, they seem to not want to upset their standing in the Council."

"More diplomatic than we are? Well we would've tried that if a certain commander didn't pull the trigger." The captain grumbled. "What about this Council?"

"Comprised of four species, they are located on a space station known as the Citadel. Fifty kilometers in diameter with five arms believed to have been made by an ancient imperialistic space-faring race known as the Protheans who suddenly vanished fifty thousand years ago. They are the central government of Citadel space and, while they can't control their own governments, the Council's decision apparently carries great weight and usually any race they encounter has joined the Citadel races."

The officers looked thoughtful for few moments before the captain spoke up, "I can see where this might be going. They are going to assume that we are going to join the Citadel, which involves surrendering a whole lot of tech that they are not even close to having."

"Pretty much. Though I highly doubt we or the Coalition will join. For us due to us rather being left alone and not being dragged into other people's conflicts. We've had too much war in our history that we've nearly turned it into an art." The general remarked.

"Yes, we'd sooner join the Coalition than the Citadel, as there are several treaties and conventions we would have to follow in order for us to even be granted an embassy."

"And would you mind telling us what those are?"

"Well for one, AIs are highly illegal and even researching. Another is the Treaty of Farixen that stipulates the amount of dreadnought ships to each race. Also WMDs are restricted."

"What's considered a dreadnought?" Keith asked. He remembered that the Forerunner's had multiple classes of dreadnoughts. The smallest being seven hundred meters and the largest being a hundred kilometers long. The only dreadnought classes the UNSC has is five. The smallest being seven kilometers long and the mainstream light carrier class known as the _Dormant-Class._ The next, being the _Titan-Class_ at ten kilometers and after them are the _Infinity-Class_ at sixteen kilometers. The next two being based off of the _Fortress-Class_ the Forerunners deployed. The fifty kilometer _Bastion-Class_ supercarriers with five ever produced due to personnel constraints and three _Oblivion-Class_ hundred kilometer dreadnoughts.

"A dreadnought is an eight hundred meter ship to a kilometer that has a ship length mass accelerator cannon that can produce thirty eight kilotons of kinetic energy."

While the general didn't bother himself with knowing how much kilotons of kinetic energy his guns could produce, the captain had to learn what his weapons were capable of as he had to know the destructive force of using such a weapon on astronomical bodies. "That's barely anything." He commented. "The Series-10 can produce 17.18 gigatons of force alone." He looked towards the general who was obviously confused. "To put into layman's terms, if shot correctly and at the right fault line, I could potentially destroy an entire world with a single shot." He explained. "Although, swarms of the other ships were capable of breaching my frigates shields and destroying them and heavily damaging the heavy destroyers."

The general nodded. "That's why I joined the Army and not the Navy. Too much numbers." The general said with mirth. "Sir." He saluted indicating that he was leaving. The captain saluted back and his hologram blinked out.

"Heather forward all that information to HIGHCOM and ONI on a Gamma-1 transmission. They are going to need all the information they can get."

"Right."

"I'm going get some rest. Alert me if anything of importance happens." He said to the AI and then shouted. "XO has the bridge!" before he turned and exited the bridge.

 **('-')**

At that exact moment, a certain human councilor, upon getting word of another Human race that disgraced the might of the turian fleets, was getting an earful from three other councilors. While the information he and the other councilors received put the turians in an even worse a light than that of the Systems Alliance, it still made things, for all intent and purposes, a political shitstorm for everyone. Word had spread faster than wildfire that another human race put four fleets of turians to shame.

The exact details the public had gotten their hands on were sketchy, for lack of a better term. Many turians and other species, that weren't all that keen on having Humanity get a councilor before they did, believed that the Systems Alliance had been developing a stronger military behind everyone's backs. This theory was standing on sandpit already. If the Systems Alliance had discovered means of traveling to a different galaxy, Udina would've thanked whatever deity that existed that it was kept under wraps for so long, not that he was a religious man.

Another theory and even more likely one was that it was a long, lost colony ship but this was discredited due to cryogenics not being all that great forty years ago and them, with the discovery of the Mass Relay System, being not useful anymore.

Udina, via the ambassador, had already received many messages regarding humanity's stance on what to do next. Most wanted for the Systems Alliance to proclaim them as an envoy and gain all their tech. Some pro-human groups, that were more docile than Cerberus, agreed with this but rather not share it with the other species and use it as a means to escape the clutches of the Citadel. Others, though while the vast minority, wished for them to be left alone rather than to provoke them.

Udina was without a doubt conflicted with the issue. On one hand he could ask the Council to open negotiations with them and eventually lead them to join the Citadel. And on the other he could ask them to wage war against them and eventually induct them into the Citadel.

To him, all roads led to them joining the Citadel, as no one could refuse an offer like that. If this Humanity was anything like the Systems Alliance, then they would be more than willing to join the Citadel. If they wanted to be a separate state then Udina would let them but he would subtly begin to integrate them into the Systems Alliance, eventually making it so they have no other choice but to join them. Thus, gaining exponential assets for the Systems Alliance.

Then again their military was not one to mess with. A super-dreadnought measuring at ten kilometers that looked absolutely menacing. From the images he had received, the smallest ship they had was cruiser-weight. The twenty two ships were able to fend off a turian assault of over three hundred and, according to intelligence, the planet they were attacking was their homeworld and they had only just discovered the mass relays that led them to their only thing that concerned Udina was their shielding and armor of their warships. Shielding that was not kinetic and had a blue hexagonal hue to where a round would impact, absorbing it. Once they got through the shielding, however, the armor was incredibly thick and durable.

To sum up, they would be stupid not to join the Citadel at their level of space-faring. The Citadel had means for their expansion as they didn't even have conventional FTL, not that it would be possible without eezo. Udina thought long and hard as he ignored the lecture he was getting from the other Councilors. He would say his part when they stopped.

"Are you done?" He politely asked. "It isn't my fault that the turians engaged the other humans. I suggest that we proceed with negotiations with them."

"Two human races on the Citadel? That would be confusing, to say the least." Tevos, the Asari councilor said.

"They are not even off of their homeworld. The Systems Alliance could negotiate for them to be merged into us. We would share their tech and with only one world and a handful of ships that are not even FTL capable what could they possibly do against us?"

The councilors thought and discussed for a moment something that Udina hated. They would exclude him out of very important decision making and even if he voted against what they wanted he would be outvoted. "Yes, we would think that you plan is the wisest course of action. After we gain access to their galaxy we will begin colonization efforts on that side." Tevos stated.

"However, we will be bringing in a combined four fleets just in case our plan does, as you humans say, go south." Sparatus, the Turian Councilor, added in.

"Should go ourselves and apologize in person for whatever happened." Valern, the Salarian Councilor, also said quickly.

"What if they turn out to be hostile?" Udina asked.

"Then we will leave while the four fleets engage. After losing four of their ships and two ships also being heavily damaged they cannot possible have recuperated their losses in a day. Our numbers would overwhelm them." Sparatus quickly responded. "Although it will take us a few to organize our fleets and get our schedules in order."

"Then it is decided." Tevos concluded. "Udina will lead the negotiations with us there as well."

 _ **(T_T)**_

"And what of the Council races?" Keith questioned the two holographic leaders that were displayed. One being an Ngalekgolo clad in white armor that was edged with a golden colored material. The entirety of the colony that would usually form "bond-brothers" formed a single hulking mass. Being stronger, both neurologically and physically, the Ngalekgolo was at least twice the size of a normal Mgalekgolo. While one arm retained a massive shield that has been tested to withstand at least one _Redapo_ missile, not surprising since it did use Titanium-F Battle Plate, or as the Coalition called it Promethean Battle Plate.

The other was a UNSC Captain named Jennifer Adams. A middle aged looking woman in the BDUs that flag officers wore on duty. While it wasn't ceremonial dress it still held a number of ribbons but no medals. She had blue eyes and short cut brown hair that went to just above her shoulders with strong facial features. She gave command to Keith upon entering the system with her fleet that consisted of a _Megalodon-Class_ Heavy Battlecruiser, four of _Calamity-Class_ Heavy Destroyers escorted the flagship and accompanying them were seventeen _Zenith-Class_ Heavy Frigates. The majority of the 21st Fleet being in orbit of Panora while the rest taking its populace away from the fighting and the city being heavily fortified. There had been problems at first regarding the alien prisoners and their food as they only ate dextro-amino and while the UNSC and Coalition didn't have it on hand, they quickly began producing it from a nearby food plant.

The Coalition, as always, came along. Honoring their word, they sent a small fleet to assist. A Supercarrier, known as the _Unseen Fire,_ measuring to fifty kilometers and served as flagship of the fleet. Fifteen _CCS,_ or Coalition Capital Ship,Battlecruisers _,_ each at four kilometers long with an extra energy projector and several more plasma turrets, provided the bulk of the fleet. Two fifteen kilometer long Assault Carriers accompanied it as well. Several of their Heavy Destroyers along with about twenty frigates made the perimeter of the fleet.

The Ngalekgolo, known as Akita by the UNSC Captains, began with Omega, the small reinforcing taskforce's AI, translating. _"If we go to war, none of their militaries will be spared. As far as diplomacy goes we will wait until to see if they send another force. If they do not, then we will send an expedition to their seat of power."_

" _And if they come to us offering a truce?"_ Adams asked. She would assume that they would come to them as they didn't know the UNSC and Coalition had access to every single one of their worlds given if the 'Codex' was anything to go by and the authenticity of it.

"We will let them come to us. When they do we will assume that they concede defeat but until than however we will continue to hold position. They don't know that we have the locations of their worlds and I intend to keep it that way. We hold the advantage here. Let's not waste it." Keith ordered.

"Sir! Hostile warships are emerging from the artefact. _Hoplite,_ _Sacramento_ and _Salt Lake_ are retreating to our lines." A bridge officer shouted out.

"Looks like we dont have to wait all that long. Keith out." He said before the holograms fizzled out. "Maintain positions and deploy all fighters. How many are we looking at?" He asked. They were already at General Quarters so he didn't need to order for that.

"A little over three hundred and fifty but they are out of weapons analogue is that of a heavy destroyer or light battlecruiser, most likely flagship."

 _Three hundred and fifty ships against ninety. We were able to destroy half of that with my initial taskforce._ Keith thought to himself. But now game changers were now in play in favor for the initial defense. For one, they had reinforcements. With the Coalition deploying a supercarrier, Keith had no doubt that if this resulted into a battle then they would win.

"Get me a line to their flagship." Keith barked out.

 _ **OOOH! ending that just sent chills down my spine. I started this as soon as I could and been writing whenever I had free time so it was a bit on and off-about one to two hundred words per write. Also fixed the perspective changes...hope you like the faces...c(T_Tc)**_

 _ **Anyways! Love the feedback, I'm going to do reveiw responses whenever there needs to be reveiw responses an this one gets some since I felt like it.**_

 _ **To those of you that want bigger and badder UNSC ships, this chapter has the first mention of please also read the chapter all the way through before reviewing. I'm talking to you Infinity gripers...**_

 _ **Sightbent and The Digger92- Both of you thanks for the support! I also personally think that this version is way I dont want to overpower the UNSC and Coalition too much, I think that this chapter basically said that the UNSC and Coalition aren't gods but could still kick your ass in thousands of different ways.**_

 _ **1.5k lifespan was due to me thinking logically. While some stories portray UNSC and the ex-Covenant species as having indefinite lifespans, some that I have read were not good at all but there were those that were very interesting (Lost Legacy by Andrithir is a very good write I highly recommend it).1.5K was me thinking and coming up with "If we could live forever what would the point be in living?" and so 1.5k was born.**_

 _ **Politics...*bangs head against the wall* I kinda wrote that wrong in my AN of the first chapter. I was meaning to say that the negotiations would go into very fine detail and would very much be an information dump on the history that occurred over the four hundred years prior to meeting the Mass Effect Universe.**_

 _ **abraxas01- When I read your review...I actually liked it. For starters, I went back and did a whole load of math trying to figure out the amount of force it produced and how much kinetic tnt it would take to literally destroy a planet. Technically speaking, if the 1k-ton round hit a normal ciy and wasnt anywhere close to a major fault line than the city would be leveled followed by a, fifteen kilometers in diameter, crater and some serious seismic activity.**_

 _ **I meant for it to 2952 actually and the Pelican of this era is a slightly larger, more versatile gunship/transport air vehicle. Basically speaking, imagine the pelican of a slightly larger make.**_

 _ **Telron and Tmx08- Hmm...never played Total Domination before but searched it after I read your review and I couldnt see any similarities. Codex chapter will be next one but mainly militaristic in nature as I'm saving the history for the negotiations.**_

 _ **Thats about all I have so Review! Review! Review!**_

 _ **Until Next Time!**_


	3. III

_**As I said in the last chapter this is the "codex" chapter on the history of the UNSC and Coalition. Remember that any events may be AU for plot purposes. Again, I can't stress this enough, most events will be AU and a lot of alterations were made to fit the plot.**_

 _ **Also, I will only be going over key events in the negotiations between the UNSC/Coalition and the Citadel.**_

 _ **I'm also going off the fact that since 2552 is five hundred years into OUR future, that medical technology has advanced to the point where someone can live to be two hundred.**_

December 10th, 2552- The Master Chief orders the Arbiter to escape while he activates the Array, clearly stating "that his people will need him to lead them in the future."

The Arbiter did not refuse the Spartan as he knew the Demon was right. He escapes while the Master Chief continues the mission.

 _UNSC Forward Unto Dawn_ fully goes through the collapsing slipspace portal, suffering heavy damage to both the engines and slipspace drive; they are also stranded in unknown space. Only passengers are Cortana and John-117. After a few days of living aboard the Charon-Class Frigate and a brief conversation between the two, John-117 goes into cryo sleep. Cortana drops a distress beacon and hopes for the best.

March 3rd, 2553- End of Human-Covenant War. Lasted three decades with nearly 30 billion human casualties and billions more Covenant forces. Nearly all Outer Colonies are glassed with very few surviving Inner Colonies and even fewer remaining unscathed. 11 billion humans remain.

Rest of 2553- Negotiations between humans and Covenant Separatists commence. _Infinity_ assists Sanghelli Separatists in holding their homeworld, Sanghelios.

2554- Doctor Catherine Halsey begins Sixth Generation Smart A.I. development and the UNSC 5th Fleet is dispatched to find and deactivate all remaining "Halo Rings" their mission is leveled at Top Secret.

James "The Rookie" Traeger leads an ODST strike force against the remaining Insurrection Forces. Their mission is a success with little casualties.

2556- A Sanghelli Zealot activates a weapon on a human colony killing over two thousand and injuring more, putting a massive strain on the still ongoing and very tense negotiations.

June 30th 2557- Forerunner Monitor designated "343 Guilty Spark" hijacks the UNSC Rubicon and sets course to shield world Requiem.

Cortana puts herself in a "stasis" in an attempt to stall Rampancy and to protect John-117. She diverts all remaining power to cryogenics, the distress beacon, and memory core to extend longevity.

July 21st 2557- The _UNSC Infinity_ tracks the _UNSC Rubicon_ to the shield world. Events of the First Battle of Requiem occur. 343 Guilty Spark allies himself with the UNSC announcing them to be the "inheritors of the Mantle and true Reclaimers." The UNSC openly disagree with being a "galaxy protector" but acknowledge the fact that in some instances they will fight when it is needed.

Home Fleet sustains heavy losses as well as the Sanghelli Fleet stationed in the Sol System. The, metastable 343 Guilty Spark is able to start the self-destruction sequence of the _Mantle's Approach,_ killing the Ur-Didact in the process. Spark was able to uncover data on Forerunner shield worlds that contained Flood spores and specimens. Both UNSC and Sanghelli forces launch multiple incursions onto the worlds to destroy the specimens beginning the Human/Sanghelli-Flood War.

2558- Events of _Spartan Ops_ occur. Captain Thomas Lasky, knowing the order being a military crime, disobeys Admiral Serin Osmin's order to kill Halsey and instead contacts Hood about what occurred. Hood then launches an investigation on ONI and Halsey being placed in protective custody.

2560- Negotiations between the UNSC/UEG and the Sanghelli Council come to a close. The Sanghelli ambassadors. including the Arbiter Thel 'Vadam remark that they are going to form an alliance between the ex-Covenant species due to their reliance on each other. Officials become wary as they don't want another war. Humanity is invited to join the meeting but after much debate they ultimately decline the offer, stating "We wished to be our on sovereign state and three decades of genocide does not go away easily." Estimates put that it'll be around the 32nd century before the UEG and UNSC considers joining the forming alliance.

Joint efforts between the UNSC and Sanghelli military begin terraforming efforts on glassed worlds. They also hunt down remaining San 'Shyumm and push the bloodthirsty and revenge driven Covenant Jiralhanae Extremists back to their homeworld, Dosiac. Any attempt to negotiate with the Jiralhanae is met with hostility. A quarantine was placed on the planet and a fleet of Sanghelli warships is always present in the system.

ONI is completely cleansed with many officers and even Admiral Osmin being arrested for war crimes. Spartan Program is released to the public. While many openly disagree with kidnapping children, they recognize the fact that desperate measures were taken during the Human-Covenant War for the survival of Humanity.

In order to appease the populace. The UNSC relinquishes its emergency powers that were granted during the great war. ONI now answers directly to the UNSC and Dr. Halsey is appointed its Director. They also execute Osmin for treason.

2562- Human/Sanghelli-Flood War continues to be waged. Many Forerunner Monitors are recovered with some being deactivated due to unstable Rampancy. While Forerunner data had been discovered, most valuable information, such as the history of Humanity and the Forerunners, has ultimately been destroyed along with many shield worlds.

A few _Fortress-Class_ vessels are recovered and joint research teams are sent to see what they can uncover.

2565- The Coalition of Species is formed. The Unggoy, Kig-Yar, Mgalekgolo, Yanme'e, Sanghelli form under a single banner. Huragok are split between both the UNSC and the Coalition as they only want to help both factions succeed.

The Human/Sanghelli-Flood War ends in victory though at a cost. Two worlds were re-glassed and over two billion casualties were taken. The Flood lost due to not only dwindling "food sources" but no space capability so they could not spread.

Human/Sanghelli-Flood War results in new precautions in Flood encounters. The newly enacted "Purge Protocol" is taken into effect.

Purge Protocol

1\. Any detection of any Flood spores will result in the immediate quarantine of world. No non-authorized ships are allowed to leave or enter the orbit or reach weapons range of the world. Any ship that fails to heed the warnings of security will result in the immediate destruction of said ship.

2\. Cole Protocol is initiated.

3\. Any civilians are to be evacuated if possible.

4\. All civilian space-capable craft are to be disabled and/or destroyed.

5\. Once planet is clear of personnel and space-capable craft. CO must begin glassing of major Flood concentrations. If planet has become overrun, _NOVA_ is to be used as soon as possible.

2570- Terraforming efforts go into full swing. Estimates put that all UNSC worlds will be un-glassed within ten years.

Medical advances take place to effectively allow the average person to live to 300.

Unggoy undergo mandatory vaccines that reduce sex drive and strict laws are placed on Unggoy breeding.

Dr. Halsey begins research into bio-nanites. She also begins to revive the rest of the Spartan-IIs and finish augmentation with the original Spartan-II serum. Nine die another four "wash-out" and the rest start their training under Chief Petty Officer Mendez.

2575- The _Infinity-Class_ receives upgrades and seven more are commissioned with three more under production. It is now ten kilometers long at this point.

Designs of new ships classes are being drawn up. The point of it is to have single main class of ships with each class having numerous roles.

2600- All UNSC worlds are un-glassed. Human population is 30 billion at 800 worlds. Reach becomes the UNSC stronghold. With new shipyards, material, and technology, Reach becomes the embodiment of UNSC military prowess.

Sanghelli population: 18 billion

Unggoy population: 45 billion

Lekgolo population: 5 billion colonies

Kig-Yar population: 25 billion

Yanme'e population: 60 billion

Huragok population: five billion

2687- MJOLINR Mark X is deployed to all remaining active Spartan-IIs and IIIs. Systems are upgraded with passive upgrade and repair with cloaking and advanced hardlight shielding. Numerous armaments are made with the suit such as miniature missile launchers within the arms. Imbedded thruster packs allow for increased mobility. Weighs half a ton and looks like a cross between MJOLINR and Forerunner armor.

EXCALIBER Armor systems are deployed to all active Spartan-IVs. Advanced energy shielding and cloaking with smaller thruster packs. Not passive upgrading and repair.

2700-Bio-nanites are introduced into the general populace of all species excluding Lekgolo and Huragok. The average lifespan of a single being is 1,500 years old before they die.

Research and Development begins experimenting with personnel energy shields and Directed Energy Weapons with the usage of plasma.

Covenant Extremists invade the Dosiac system and destroy the Sanghelli fleet. Coalition and a few UNSC colonies come under attack by Covenant Storm forces led by Jul 'Mdama. Storm War ensues. _Zenith-Class_ commissioned.

2728- Storm War continues with the UNSC now being fully targeted as well. _Titan-Class_ Capital Warshipis commissioned. Two are built and deployed with four more under construction.

November 24th, 2734- OPERATION: WHIPLASH is green-lit. The objective kill Jul 'Mdama. A team of 29 Spartan-II commandos are to infiltrate his flagship with the distraction of Battle Group 21 and assassinate the commander.

December 5th, 2734- Operation Whiplash is a huge victory with no Spartan casualties. The Titan-Class performs beyond expectation.

December 10, 2734- Marks the end of the Storm War which lasted 34 years and ends with three billion humans dead with the Coalition taking the heavier toll of 27 billion.

Jiralhanae are declared extinct as well as the San 'Shyumm.

 _Endurance-Class_ Heavy Cruiser commissioned.

2742- _Calamity-Class_ Heavy Destroyer and the _Preston-Class_ Heavy Destroyer are commissioned. The _Calamity-Class_ has three MACS as opposed to the _Preston-Class_ which has two.

 _Dominion_ Main Battle Tank comes into service.

A new and improved _Pelican_ is put into service.

Marine, Army, and ODST forces receive full refits.

Warthog M42 enters service.

2759- _Dormant-Class_ Light Carrier enters service.

The _UNSC Sol_ is deployed. The new Oblivion-Class of 100km ships. It is part of the Home Defense Fleet. Two more are planned with seven smaller,50km, sized capital warships named the _Bastion-Class._

Colonization efforts begin.

 _Reach II_ begins construction.

2800- _Reach II_ is built. A 100,000 km, in diameter, space station based off the Ark. Forerunner Monitors and thousands of Sentinel construction drones assisted in the construction of the station. Complete with built in shipyards and defenses. Three Forerunner power cores power the behemoth. It becomes a second stronghold for the UNSC and is used to train military forces for combat in zero-G environments.

2825-Titan-Class goes to 10km long while the Infinity-Class goes to 16km. All Coalition ships undergo resizes.

All populations are doubled from the year 2600.

Colonization efforts are ceased.

2952- UNSC colony Panora is established and a few weeks later an ancient artifact is uncovered.

Second Contact Conflict ensues...

 _ **And there you have it! If you have any questions be sure to either drop a review or PM me!**_

 _ **Until Next Time!**_


	4. IV

"What's taking them so long to answer?" Keith asked. He wasn't known to be one of the more patient people and he had been standing by the vid screen for about five minutes.

"I don't know captain. Heather was able to configure our communications so we could contact them." A comm officer replied. "We are also transmitting on all signals so comms aren't the problem."

Heather appeared on the battle display. "I think they were expecting eighteen battered ships and not ninety eight warships that essentially could destroy them all." She paused. "I would try to hack into their comms but if they do detect me then that could trigger a war."

The video started to fizzle into existence. "Looks like they finally decided to answer." He nodded to the ship's AI who blinked out of existence. He had remembered reading about their intense fear of AIs and how they exiled an entire race who created ones who would kill organics and decided against from introducing them for now.

He was not in his ceremonial dress but rather his BDUs. He was representing the UNSC and UEG but since military was always his family's heritage he decided for the more militaristic feel. He had also informed everyone within the fleet that there was a race of other humans part of this conglomerate of aliens and they still had a duty to protect the UEG and her interests no matter the enemy. The relative shock wore off easily and while the uneasiness was still there Keith knew those under his command would do whatever is asked of them. High Command and the UEG Senate as well as the Security Council made it explicitly clear also that no alien is to set foot on Panora again, be that they have bad or good intentions. Only Coalition forces were allowed. Another thing he was explicitly ordered to do is that once they established negotiations is to ensure the other side of the "Relay" is secured by UNSC and Coalition forces.

In mere moments the screen lit up and a blue woman-like individual was looking right back at him. Keith was very good at reading people. Being a veteran chess player came with some perks with being able to read people. She had a very prideful nature about her and Keith was able to pick up on a sense of fear, Keith was beginning to feel like he could read this 'asari' like a book. Then again if with the 'Codex' he actually could read up on every notable individual of the Citadel.

When he read up on the Asari they seemed to be more diplomatic in their endeavors. Yet when they were young, about two hundred they begin to fill with adventurous ideas and believing they could do anything. Like when they met the Systems Alliance or even the Turian Hierarchy, many of their 'Maidens' flocked to their worlds in successful attempts to bed their males and sometimes females and to learn about their culture. Keith was not going to let any blue women dock with any of his warships or even set foot on Panora. He was explicitly disgusted with the idea of having sex with another species as were all of the UNSC personnel that heard of this. Granted, he was a married man with three children and he wouldn't even think of doing 'it' with another human woman.

He decided to quickly begin before this politician had a chance to lay ground terms. "This is UNSC captain Jonathan Keith of the _UNSC Atlas_ in charge of the defense of Panora. You have entered UNSC restricted space with a fleet of warships. State your business or be fired upon." The asari woman seemed perturbed at the notion of combat but Keith was known for being a real hard-ass on those that threatened the safety of those under his command.

 _"I am Councilor Tevos of the Citadel Council and representing the Asari Republics. We wish to extend an apology for any damages done by the Turian Hierarchy and they are ready to pay reparations for all of it."_ She paused before continuing. Keith gave no emotion away and said nothing. _"We also wish to engage in peace talks between our peoples."_

Keith didn't respond for a moment. "We will be glad to have negotiations. I assume you concede defeat?"

Her eyes quickly flicked off screen for a moment before returning to Keith again. _"Yes the Turian Hierarchy concedes defeat."_ She responded. _"We will be glad to have negotiations on your homeworld if that is okay?"_ She asked.

"That will not be possible. I have orders to escort you out of system and follow you to a destination of your choice."

She again seemed slightly agitated of not being able to get what she wanted but nodded. _"Of course, we are after all trespassing. Follow us through the Relay and we will send you the coordinates of our station."_

Keith nodded and the line on the other side was cut.

 **(-_-) A few hours later...**

This whole debacle had been stressing. He left the initial defense fleet along with a number of Coalition warships, including the supercarrier _Unseen Fire,_ at Panora just in case, while the remainder of the fleet went through the Relay. When they reached the other end of the Relay, Keith had been contacted again by the flagship. He had been expecting small transmission that contained the coordinates but instead got a mouthful from Councilor Tevos, explaining that the next Relay was in the system over so he or the diplomats aboard would join them on the _Destiny Ascension._

He then explained that they possessed FTL capabilities and that they didn't need the Relays for travel. Keith noticed a spark of curiosity from the Councilor but he quickly asked for the coordinates, which he received, and before she could ask anymore he nodded to the comms officer who cut the transmission.

Along, with the transmission, however, came with instructions. They wanted for them to arrive with their small warships so as to not cause panic within the populace and while Keith agreed, he wasn't leaving with just a few frigates. Now he was aboard the _Alexandria,_ a _Megalodon-Class_ Heavy Battlecruiser with several _Zenith-Class_ Heavy Frigates acting as escort.

Keith watched as all the ships in the opposing fleet went into FTL to go to the neighboring system.

"Helm, what's the distance from here to the Citadel?"

"Around eight hundred light years. It'll take us about fifteen hours to get there." The female officer responded.

"And that fleet? How long will it take for them to get there?"

"Around two days. Three at the most."

"Talk about an advantage if I ever saw one." Keith muttered then announced. "Prep slipspace and have it ready for when we'll be there an hour before they are." And the crew sprung into action as he stood at ease at the observation window. He watched as a duo of _Zenith-Classes_ soar over the battlecruiser and into position. "Begin setting up defensive clusters around the relay."

"Sir, message from HIGHCOM designated Alpha-1 transmission." Heather spoke.

"Patch it through."

In a few seconds the Lord Terrence Hood appeared as a hologram. Keith saluted to which the famous Admiral returned.

"Sir, what is it that you need of me?"

"Right to the point as always." Hood nodded his respect. "As you know this is a new region of space with possible hostiles. Section III is sending all twenty nine commandos on espionage and intel gathering. High Command has authorized two fleets to be diverted to bolster your ranks. You are now the sole commander of a hundred and twenty-four vessels. The Coalition is sending a bigger fleet as well to reinforce."

"What of Panora?"

"Panora is going to be fortified and the populace will have safety measures intact. UEG has authorized us to do so and the population will be given the choice to return. UNSC Security Council has also given the go ahead with _Reach II_ being on the farside of the system as a checkpoint for all our forces."

Keith nodded and though for a second. "All twenty nine commandos, Sir?" Keith asked a little confused.

He took a deep sigh. "Those comm buoys deployed by your men intercepted two Omega-1 distress beacons from two ships."

Keith went wide-eyed. "You don't mean-"

"Yes, we may have found both _The Spirit of Fire_ and _Forward Unto Dawn._ "

 **(O_O)**

Udina was annoyed at the initiative that Tevos took by not letting him lead the negotiations. Even though it was agreed on before that he would lead them.

He thought about the events that happened as he stood on the bridge of the _Destiny Ascension._ He now knew that, that the system they were defending was not their home system but rather a colony and that they also had allies. Judging on the warship that was the size of the Citadel and the distinct different look to the humans of this galaxy, Udina could safely assume that they were dealing with other galactic powers.

However he knew they couldn't possibly have as many colonies as the Citadel and that _Panora_ was just a neighboring system to their home planet. Without eezo, FTL capability couldn't go beyond five light years a day with the max being twenty with smaller ships and fifteen with dreadnought sized so he prepared himself for a long wait at the Citadel before they eventually resort to the use of the Relays.

"Councilors! I'm getting a transmission from Citadel Security!" An Asari officer shouted. A thought quickly sprung into Udina's head but was quickly voiced by his turian counterpart.

"Is it the Geth?"

"No, Councilor it's the new faction we encountered." She responded. "There's vid here that showed what occurred."

"Put it on screen." Valern said.

The officer nodded and tapped on her omni-tool. In a few seconds, a view of the space around the appeared. For a few seconds, nothing happened but out of nowhere blue and white spirals in the blackness that was space lit up and out exited one of the dreadnoughts that was about a kilometer longer than the _Destiny Ascension_ surrounded by about eight of their cruiser weights.

The video ended right there as the defense fleet turned about to face the unknowns.

Udina could already see the Salarian Councilor not only tapping away quickly at his omni-tool but also coming up with theories on how this was possible.

"An hour early using conventional FTL?" Sparatus asked rhetorically with a bit of anger at seeing his military outdone in terms of speed. Udina also had a little fear. Factions not bound by the Mass Relays would not only be of huge benefit to the Council but also could be huge threat if they turned out to be hostile.

"We will discuss this at the negotiation meeting. For now, alert the defense force that they are merely waiting for us to arrive." Tevos calmly stated but Udina could see that inside she was infuriated. For politicians, just about anything could have a negative or positive effect on your reputation. Being an hour late for a meeting that was technically at your house was negative and not only painted the Citadel Races in a bad light but also had an even worse effect on the Asari since they are known for their punctuality.

An hour later of going over whatever information the Councilor's had on the UNSC and this new group, which was hardly anything except on military items of interest which were all forwarded to the Hierarchy and Arcturus Station so as to prepare for anything that might occur during the talks, they arrived to a the Citadel. In the distance, Udina could see the nine ships the UNSC had sent.

A duo of silver bulbous ships that the faction allied with UNSC sent. They were each four kilometers long and sported four fins under the foremost point of the ship. While they looked absolutely graceful he knew they packed some serious firepower if the large coil-like protrusions on either broadsides were anything to go by.

"Communications, get me line to the UNSC." Tevos said as she walked up in front of a screen. In a few moments, the screen lit up showing the UNSC captain known as Jonathan Keith. Tevos could see that they were all of the bridge relatively calm despite the fact that they were outnumbered almost thirty five to one and that Keith showed no surprise in seeing a species that looked so like themselves and for also seeing more Humans . Tevos assumed that it was only his military discipline that kept him from asking so many questions. "Greetings. I see that you made quite an entrance."

"No matter, Standard FTL for us is about a hundred light years a day." Keith said as if he were discussing the weather. "However, I would like you to meet my counterpart who represents the Coalition of Species." Before Tevos could say anything the screen halved itself and revealed a tall, reptilian with four mandibles and was clad in a white armor that was edged in gold. The alien bowed his head slightly acknowledging her and spoke in fluent English, which was surprising.

"I am Shipmaster 'Godom, representing the Coalition of Species."

She nodded to the large being. "I am Councilor Tevos of the Asari Republics." She looked at both of them before saying. "I trust we can have these peace talks without incident?"

"Yes, although we are fully prepared to defend ourselves if need be." Keith responded.

"Good then I trust it would be fine if only one of your cruisers came as your transport?"

The UNSC captain looked thoughtful for a moment before answering. "I don't see why not. We will be arriving in an hour." And the screen blipped out.

 **(-_-)**

An hour later, the _UNSC Phoenix_ was being escorted to the outer perimeter of the Citadel by four other light frigates of both the Systems Alliance and Turian Hierarchy.

To the UNSC and Coalition naval personnel, it was odd seeing frigate-weight ships being classified as cruisers. The Systems Alliance biggest "cruisers" matched the size of the UNSC heavy frigate while the Turians cruisers were more light frigates rather than heavies.

To the Citadel Defense Fleet, it was surprising that the UNSC's smallest ships were of cruiser tonnage and the others easily dwarfing even the _Destiny Ascension_ which was the largest ship in Citadel Space.

The _UNSC Phoenix_ entered the outer perimeter. As it did the hanger doors lifted and two squadrons of both _Jaeger Superiority Fighters_ and Coalition _Seraphs_ flew out being followed by three UNSC Pelicans and three Coalition Phantoms.

"Alright listen up." The famed Noble One or otherwise known as Commander Carter-A259, a Spartan-III said aloud. Two nearby holo pedestals lit up and projected the Sangheili Shipmaster as well as the AI _Omega_ \- who projected himself as the Greek letter for Omega. Captain Keith watched and listened as well. "Omega here will brief us."

The light in the Pelican dimmed as the center of it lit up displaying the place and route they were taking to get to the Council Chambers. Omega had taken the liberty to listen in on Citadel Security's comms and found out the route they were taking.

"As you know we will be escorting Captain Keith and Shipmaster 'Godom to the Chamber for peace talks and negotiations." The symbol illuminated as it spoke. "The route is a lengthy one and will most likely be used to convey the _greatness_ of the station." He said sarcastically. "You know this is relatively small to our standards and would be used as either a military outpost or refueling station."

"On to the point." The captain said, getting the AI back on track.

"Anyways we aren't expecting anything. But be on your guard just in case." The AI continued."Jorge is to stay with the gunships with Emile. Jun is to provide cloaked fire support with Kat. Six and Carter will serve as escorts along with two of Shipmaster 'Godom's Spec Ops Sangheili." He paused before continuing. "Orders are not to fire unless fired upon. If we end up being hostile and they don't let us leave peacefully then the _Alexandria_ and _Truth and Spirit_ will jump into the arms of the Citadel to deploy their entire ground complements to secure the station. While our forces begin engaging theirs the Sixth and Third Taskforces, who are in an nearby system, will jump in and assist. From there will be all up to Captain Keith and Fleetmaster Akita." He highlighted points of interest for the marksmen as well as marking the route to the chambers.

"What about the Twos that we are bringing with us?" Emile questioned. He didn't hear a single thing about them and didn't even know they were here until he saw them board the other dropships.

"Black Team is to assist Jun and Kat." The captain stated. "Gray Team's mission is intel gathering. They won't be leaving with us and will be waiting until ONI comes to pick them up." Since Noble Team was with NAVSPECWARCOM as were all remaining Threes and Twos, they had access to certain bits of information. With about a hundred Three's left and twenty nine Spartan-II commandos, they were almost extinct.

Near the end of the Human/Sangheili-Flood War and with the introduction of another powered assault armor which was infinitely lighter than GEN2 MJOLINR, the Spartan-IVs was transferred over to literally create their own branch. Before they were part of SpecOps but due to their performance High Command deemed it that they weren't ready for Special Operations due to their casualty rate. They became bonafide light infantry with nearly five hundred thousand in service.

ODSTs, Three's and Twos became the main force in SpecOps with the Fours mainly assisting Airborne units, and every now and then doing special operations.

'Godom. who has been silent, spoke. "I have my own warriors that will be assisting as well. They all have their own assignments that won't interfere with your _Demon's_ "

"Right. Now if I'm not mistaken we are to take a hardline stance and remain independent?" Keith asked.

"That is correct Captain." 'Godom answered. "The Coalition does not want another Hierarchy limiting our capability."

 _"Sir we are nearing the LZ."_ The pilot said over the dropships intercom.

"Let's get down to business. Shipmaster, see you groundside." The captain and Sangheili nodded to each other before the hologram blinked out.

The touchdown was relatively calm. "Around a hundred lightly armed troops. Most likely a police force." Carter spoke. "Several dozen camera crews all with normal biometric scans. Though be cautious."

 _"I'm getting scans of two heavily armed squads of ten in adjacent corridors. Marking as priority, all others are secondary."_ Omega said through his earpiece that no doubt went to all the Spartans in the security detail.

"Change of plans, Emile, I want you with me. Six stay with Jorge." Carter said as the bay door lowered . Flashes of cameras and reported all jockeyed for attention on the newcomers that were human. "Switch to team com."

The captain continued to walk through the sea of spectators that were all fighting for a view of them the security holding steady as the held back the wave of reporters. With his HUD contact lenses he could see green outlines of the five Spartans that quietly made their way to the outskirts, keeping an eye out for anything that the two Spartan-IIIs that handled with escorting the captain.

Eventually the noise died down as they made their way closer to the chambers. The Sangheili shipmaster strided towards the captain with his guards in tow. They had been separated due to security reasons. "I do not like being crowded." The Sangheili said quickly. "Their security almost faltered near the end and my warriors were near to killing them all."

"Well, we might not want an incident. Let's keep going." Keith responded in a neutral tone. He didn't want to give the impression that he commended their actions. Nor did he want to insult this place's security.

"Checkpoint up ahead. Marking potential hostiles." Carter stated over the comm. He saw the guards turn from a neutral gray to a yellow and red based on armaments and biometric scans.

The head security guard approached them and with Keith working with special operations for so long, due to his Battle Group being their main form of transport and fire support, he could _almost_ notice their mannerisms. While Emile was more of a gung-ho Spartan, he could get the job done both brutally and efficiently, Keith saw the slight raise of his AS-18, or the new and improved assault shotgun, which could stop a beserking brute dead in his tracks with a single, well placed, round.

"I am Executer Venari Pallin and apologize for the mishap of security." He said to the Sangheili shipmaster who grunted in annoyance. Pallin didn't know Sangheili mannerisms and took it as an apology, however when he looked to Keith he showed a sense of disgust.

 _"Marking him as High Value Target."_ Omega said into his ear comm. _"If things go south, this guy will be the first to go."_

"I trust having any weapons discarded won't be a problem." He said with a hint of superiority.

"No it won't be a problem." Keith stated, betraying no emotion. "S259 is to come with me." Names were still classified and while Keith knew them, he wouldn't divulge the information. "S239 is to stay."

The captain handed his pistol to Emile which we placed on an empty magnetic holster and he received Carter's weapons and did the same.

The Sangheili shipmaster nodded to one of the SpecOps Elites and he nodded back and received the weapons of the other two.

The Executer looked slightly irritated that they didn't hand them over to the security counter. "If we go this way we may start."

The rest of the walk was quiet with Omega making small remarks and informing the security detail.

The head of C-Sec led them through the chamber doors where the Councilors waited and were seated across a table. Keith understood that they stood for many of their meeting and as they probably guessed this could turn into a very long experience.

Both the captain and the Sangheili sat down with 'Godom being slightly surprised that it could hold his weight. With weight about four hundred pounds, chairs that could support him were only available in Coalition space and maybe special operation groups that had active Spartan Twos and Threes.

"Welcome Shipmaster 'Godom and Captain Keith." Tevos began. "As you both know I am Councilor Tevos of the Asari Republics, however you may not know my counterparts."

The turian councilor took this as his cue. "I am Councilor Sparatus representing the Turian Hierarchy." The turian could not detect any anger from the both the human representative or the shipmaster.

"I am Councilor Valern of the Salarian Union." The salarian claimed, as he carefully analyzed everything about them.

"And I am Councilor Udina of the Systems Alliance." The other human representative present stated proudly.

"As you already know who we are let us begin with discussing a prisoner transport." Keith began. "I have two thousand-five hundred and sixty-three turian prisoners aboard the _Worth._ Where would you like me to drop them off?"

The turian councilor quickly responded before any other could. "Drop them off here. I will send clearance to your cruiser."

"Alright." Keith nodded to Carter who tapped his ear and with his external speakers active spoke.

" _Worth_ is cleared for prisoner delivery, proceed to marked area."

"Now then. Time to discuss reparations. With the codex you sent me. Your credit is similar to ours." Keith stated. "Approximately twenty one million credits in damaged occurred. It can be supplied in both material and money."

The turian gritted his teeth but had to comply as they did concede defeat. He gave a grudging "Yes" before asking, "Where would you like these resources dropped off."

"Your entrance Relay into our system will be fine." Keith said.

The was a silence before Tevos broke it. "Now is the time to give us a history of your races."

Captain Keith had decided he would go first. "I formally represent the United Earth Government and United Nations Space Command, the military, scientific, and exploratory arm of the previously stated. After the war in which the UNSC was created, we had relatively peaceful times until the Insurrection began, during this war we suffered millions of casualties. In the middle of the war we had our first contact, The Covenant." Keith stated, while taking a breath. "What started as a misunderstanding and ensuing skirmish turned into total war. The Covenant was hell-bent on the genocide of the UEG and UNSC. We were slowly being pushed back by a numerically and technologically superior enemy. It wasn't until the Great Schism began and when our homeworld was located when the war ended. Overall over 30 billion humans were killed with all of the Outer Colonies rendered uninhabitable and most Inner Colonies suffering heavy damage. With war over we began rebuilding. When the Storm War began, the UNSC was hardly targeted. After a few years, the Covenant Loyalists/Extremists began fully targeting the UNSC and UEG. At the end over 3 billion humans were killed. Right now, we have over 1200 worlds under our control with a population of 100 billion."

Udina couldn't believe what he just heard. Not only did their first contact make the Systems Alliance's first look like a school kids fight but they far outnumbered the Systems Alliance by a good eighty percent with nearly double the amount of worlds all the Council Races combined controlled. "If you don't mind me asking how much territory do you control?" The Asari Councilor intervened.

"Not at all." Keith wasn't giving classified information anyways. He had been a short liaison for ONI and the UNSC when he was barely an Ensign back when they weren't directly controlled by the UNSC, so he knew what wasn't supposed to be shared or could be shared. He pulled a holoprojector from his utility belt and the light in the room dimmed.

The projector showed the UNSC Milky Way with less than a fourth of it being blue in color. "We originate from the Orion Arm, here." That arm of the galaxy pinged. "We mainly dominate that section and a little into the Carina-Sagittarius Arm. If I may, Shipmaster 'Godom show territorial lines?"

"You may." He responded.

"Thank you." He turned to the projection. "This yellow line shows the boundary of the Coalition and UNSC. Where we encountered the Relay is here." The very, very far edge of the Orion Arm pinged to show a little red dot with a yellow line just skimming it, marking it as UNSC space. "Since the discovery of this Relay, no other colonized system has reported the existence of another."

All the Councilors were in awe. While they could travel to just about anywhere in the galaxy, only one percent of it was actually explored. These newcomers seem content to just slowly expand outwards and not dart from place to place.

The shipmaster decided to begin his history. "The Coalition of Species was founded on our dependency of each other from the Covenant of 2552 each other. In 2560 the treaty was ratified. The Coalition is comprised of several species. The Sangheili, Unggoy, Yanme'e, Kig-Yar, and Mgalekgolo. These species were once part of the Covenant. A religious militaristic Hierarchy focused on the worship of the Forerunners and headed by the San 'Shyumm. After the dissolution of the Covenant we formed. In 2700, war broke out between the Coalition and the Covenant Extremists and ended in 2734 with their leader being killed. In this war, 27 billion casualties were taken on our side with the San 'Shyumm and Jiralhanae, being the main enemy, declared extinct. We have over 1500 worlds under our control with a populace of 231 billion and 20 billion Lekgolo colonies. Since we are no longer militaristic in nature most of our citizens are now civilians."

Since Tevos was the diplomat she decided to speak. "Well you are all welcome to join the Citadel Races at an-"

"I apologize for interrupting but we are not here to join the Citadel." Keith quickly said.

"What? Why not?" Tevos asked, very surprised at being declined. The others including the Human Councilor's eyes shot wide open.

"For one, we would be limited in everything. From technology to our space." Keith began. "Also the UEG has remained independent for over six hundred years and wishes to remain so. We would sooner join the Coalition than a total unknown."

"The Coalition chooses to also remain our own alliance. We do not want to be inducted into a group where we would be restrained." The Sangheili stated.

"But we would all benefit from each other-"Tevos tried but was cut off again but by the Shipmaster this time.

"Mainly, you benefit from us. The only thing you have going for you is the speed of your ships in real space. Other than that we have every advantage."

The UNSC captain ran a hand through his hair. "Let me be frank with you, I see that we would likely be viewed as a client of the Systems Alliance and again we would be restrained in our capability." He stated. "The Codex you forwarded me informed me of quite a few things that put their military and colonial capability in a tight spot."

"So I am assuming you have read the Treaty of Farixen?" Sparatus stated.

"Of course." Keith retorted. "All of our warships are cruiser-weights or higher, according to you. Also your laws stipulate the ban of AIs who are an integral part of the UEG."

"You use AIs!?" Udina all but shouted. "Are you mad!?"

"Yes to the first question and no to the second. Yes, every major population center has an Urban Infrastructure AI and every fleet has at least two. They have played a major role in our society and continue to do so."

"Does the Coalition also use AIs?" Tevos asked.

"No. We leave all AI research and development to the UNSC. We do, however, utilize AIs in our cities."'Godom answered.

" So will you join the Citadel or not?" Tevos asked.

"No. The Coalition will not join." The shipmaster answered quickly.

"Nor will the UEG." Keith added. "However, I must express this. The entrance to our galaxy has already been fortified. I must say that the UNSC has made this expressly clear that no un-authorized ship is to cross, or they may be fired upon."

"So there may be no tourism?" Tevos asked.

"None. My superiors have made it expressly clear that they do not want any tourists crossing." Keith answered. "These negotiations are more or less for no hostilities. There is a matter that must be brought up."

"What is it?" Sparatus questioned. These proceedings have gone on too long if their objective was only no hostilities.

"Two signals were received when we deployed comm buoys on this side of the Relay." Keith said. "Their sources are of great importance to the UNSC."

"What kind of importance?" Valern finally voiced.

"That is classified." Keith stated but noticed the subtle shifting in his eyes and movements. "Councilor Valern did you know of these signals?"

The Salarian Councilor said nothing as all gazes turned towards him. Under the gazes he finally gave in. "The STG may or may not have intercepted a signal."

"Will you play it?" Keith said through gritted teeth. The Salarian relented after a few seconds and activated his omni-tool.

 _"Mayday. Mayday. Mayday. This is UNSC FFG-201 Forward Unto Dawn. Requesting immediate evac. Survivors aboard._ _Prioritization code: V5-3-S0117."_ The audio stopped and Keith had a relieved smile on his face.

"What have you done concerning this?" Keith asked, he wasn't about to allow humanity's hero get into enemy hands.

"I dispatched a Council Spectre that was nearby to investigate." Valern stated defiantly but immediately put his head down. "However, we lost contact an hour later."

"Send me the coordinates. This meeting is adjourned." Keith stated as he was rushing out to the Pelican followed by his escorts and 'Godom.

 _ **Aha! I'm back! Not much to say other than let me know how I did!**_

 _ **Before anyone flames me on how I said that the UNSC controls over 1200 worlds. This means that while all the worlds are not fully developed, All have colonies on them. Same with the Coalition!**_

 _ **Until Next Time!**_


	5. V

_**Now, now before you all shoot me for not updating the story on time please allow me to explain. Truth is School. Is. A. Bitch. Keeping grades up and acing those tests is no easy feat let me tell you . Im on Varsity Chess (yes now Im a complete nerd because I play video games, have great grades and write fanfiction and chess) so practice has also taken its toll on my time. And frankly I've just been plain busy with work and life. I haven't had time to write for two weeks straight and afterwards when I did have the time to write I wrote a sentence or two before I was pulled somewhere else. But NO MATTER the story will continue!**_

 _ **Halo 5: Guardians canon will not play a part as it will completely butcher the entire plotline of this story. Other than that I enjoy the response I am getting. Enjoy!**_

 _"UNSC war doctrine is shock and awe, for standard ground forces at least. Ground forces rely on heavy artillery, bombing by aircraft and orbital fire support to soften up enemy positions before moving with LFVs, and heavy armor support and close air support with speed and effieicent brutality, heavily based on the World War 2 tactic utilized by the Germans, known as the Blitzkrieg or "Lightning War", only refined so as to not lose momentum. Naval doctrine is different. Every fleet has at least one Prowler present, they quickly lay a nucleur minefield right in front of the enemy. It will usualy soften up the enemy to the point where the main force would just mop up. However, in recent combat scenarios this tactic is becoming void as sustained engangements lead to heavy casualties. To counter-act this frigate and destroyer weight ships now have faster recharging drives that will allow them to preform hit and run tactics prior to the main engangment to harass enemy lines."_

 _-Fleet Admiral Lord Terrance Hood, head of all UNSC military forces._

"Chief!" A blue hologram shouted as thousands upon thousands of _thoughts_ ran through her head. She still wasn't used to the feeling of being _free_ from protocol but her will and passion will always lie with the UNSC and her interests.

A cyrotube that was directly across from cracked open releasing a burst of cold air from its confines. Cortana didn't know the extent of the tubes abilities for lasting about four _hundred_ years but with her always receiving scans of his vitals and they were in tip-top condition. A few seconds but hours to Cortana passed by before armored greaves reached out and clutched the sides of the tube before the legendary Master Chief stepped out.

While it didn't seem like it on the outward appearance of the Spartan-II, Cortana still noticed the after effects of cryo-sleep. He had a frigid stance and an almost unnoticeable limp in his step as he quickly approached the pedestal where she was located. "Why did you wake me up?" His, low, baritone voice, still quite raspy from being frozen.

"I intercepted a transmission from who knows where. Plug me in and lets head to the bridge."

Chief did as the AI told him to. He was really surprised that he didn't die from cryo sleep but he credited that to his insane luck. The same luck that allowed him to survive the collapsing and unstable slipspace portal that landed him here. "Were we able to pinpoint it?" The Chief asked as his armored footsteps echoed through the barren corridor.

"The sensors were damaged at the Battle of the Ark. We have no way of knowing where it is until we get to the bridge. I'll be able to figure out where and what it is when we get there."

The Chief nodded. He looked at his Assault Rifle and checked the ammo. If he was going to fight he was going to go prepared. He hoped that there was more ammo on the bridge but highly doubted it as the ship was essentially stripped clean for the fight against the Covenant.

In a few more long strides the Spartan was at the command center of the _Forward Unto Dawn._ "You're going to have to pry it open. I had to reroute all the power to all vital systems to stay alive and I can't exactly reroute power where I'm not connected."

"You didn't reroute power while you were in the holopedastal?" The Chief questioned?

"I clearly didn't and I was to buy trying to figure out where that signal was coming from. It was completely unfamiliar to me as if they were operating on a different system than the UNSC and even the Covenant for that matter."

The Chief didn't respond as he attached his current weapon to the magnetic holster that was located on his back. Hr put his armored fingers on the edge of the sealed door as he pulled both sides open. The doors screeched as they were opened for the first time in almost half a millennia. The Chief grunted as the doors finally opened themselves and revealed dusted consoles and command chair. He stood straight as he looked out observation windows as the black void and white stars came into his view.

The Spartan went straight to the nearest point to where he could plug Cortana into the ship. Nearly instantly all the light flickered on in the bridge. "Powering down cyrobay. Chief to conserve power I'm going to turn off the gravity, so get ready." She warned. The Spartan didn't show a response as he, also almost instantly, activated his magnetic boots that would keep him attached to the floor.

"The beacon is still going. Weapon systems are either damaged beyond repair or have no ammo. Life support is holding steady. Power is also holding steady at a good ten percent. Not bad for a fusion reactor that has been going for four hundred years."

"What's that?" Chief asked as he nodded towards a beeping red light on a console while simultaneously loading a fresh clip of ammo into his rifle. Cortana instantly pulled up the problem and frowned. "Looks like we are going to have visitors. Three corvette analogues that don't match any Covenant or UNSC specifications are on approach vectors."

The Chief attached a Magnum to his thigh before turning to the AI. "Scramble their communications."

"Already on it." She responded.

"When they come aboard, distract them. See what their intentions are, if hostile, seal their escape route and I'll clean up."The Master Chief said before making his way out.

"Just like old times, then." Cortana said as she watched the figure of the Chief leave the bridge and the sealed doors closing.

 _"The Dominion Main Battle Tank is a six tread heavily armored behemoth. The succeessor and what the prototype Grizzly Main Battle Tank was suppposed to be. A four man crew. A commander, gunner, loader and driver for optimal effeicency. The armor is designed to absorb as many hits as possible while still being able to deal out heavy damage to where it is needed. The top speed is 50mph in optimal contitions. Infantry love it when they see- or rather hear us coming."_

 _-General Henry Maxwell, Tank Commaner in the 54th Armored Division_

 _ **Hello! And this is the end of this chapter!**_

 _ **Sorry for the long wait as stated above I am real busy! This chapter was finished today when I had completely nothing to do for the next half hour! This is mainly to let you know that I haven't given up on this story and that I am holding true to upload these chapter's as often as I can so that being said-There will be no definite date as to when this story will again be updates but I will attempt to have another chapter (or two) done by the end of the year!**_

 _ **I will also be starting another story to keep my mind filled with a diversity of topics so that I don't get bogged down with a single topic and get bored. Pro Tip! Have more than one story! While some writers like to focus on one thing, I'm a multitasker and can and will get bored if I only work on one thing.**_

 _ **Next! Chief's first encounter with the Mass Effect Universe!**_


	6. VI

_**Enjoy!**_

 _"The Coalition is comprised of five races. The Sangheili, Mgalekgolo, Yanme'e, Kig-Yar and Unggoy. Their senate is comprised of several from each race with the exception of the Yanme'e who only need a simple worker to relay the messages from the queen. Their hierarchial government had been razed with a new diplomacy system set, not unlike the early United Nations, where everyone also had their seperate governments while the Coalition is an alliance for their heavy dependenance on each other."_

 _-Unknown UEG Political Analasyt_

The Illusive Man sat, in his office chair, pondering on how to deal with these new players in the galactic community. On one hand, he could a attempt to set up a base of operations in their space to avoid Council laws and intervention but not only would that be extremely expensive, but also time-consuming. He had heard that there were no Mass Relays in their space other than the one encountered on the far edge of turian space. They didn't rely on the relays and remained independent from their alien counterparts, something that the Cerberus leader respected and approved of. On the other hand, though he could try to get backing from them but that would be very, _very,_ stupid. Considering that they heavily fortified the Council side of relay in a matter of hours and the ships and technology they possessed would anything they had apart and The Illusive Man could guarantee that they didn't take kindly to known terrorist organizations.

According to reports, from his contacts on the Citadel that monitors their communications, there is a derelict ship that belonged to the UNSC, in Citadel Space. When The Illusive Man had heard this He quickly dispatched a small group of five frigates to the UNSC ship. Twenty minutes later they encountered the salarian spectre that the Councilor Valern had sent, which was immediately destroyed on sight and that was a little less than ten minutes ago. The Illusive Man knew it was a race against both the newcomers and the Council races on who could get there first. Luckily, he had a small flotilla nearby to assist that consisted of a cruiser and ten frigates. He would need to strip the ship bare quickly before leaving and this opportunity was just too valuable to pass up.

 **c(^-^c)**

Tyler Leaman nodded to The Illusive Man before the holographic form of the man flickered out of existence. He had just entered the system where the derelict ship was located. Leaman made his way to the bridge to get a proper readout of the situation, even though he knew what was going on by heart.

He entered the bridge to the sight of crew members dressed in Cerberus garbs worked hastily. "Scan the ship! Find where the reactor and it's FTL drive is located!" He barked out. They had a very tight time table and if they couldn't do this in the next forty minutes than they would be met with a warship that makes a Quarian Liveship look like a small cruiser.

"Sir, It appears the engines are severely damaged to the point where the only movement occurring is drift. The reactor appears to be around the middle decks near the engines." A Cerberus officer shouted. While Cerberus was considered a terrorist organization, it was able to field a private army and navy to the point where it could be considered another faction of humans, just like the UNSC. Although they did not have a civilian populace so that was not possible. "By our standards, this frigate is classified as a cruiser, so we may need to wait for our reinforcements before we take out the FTL drive."

Tyler thought for a moment. They would be severely pushing it by the time their backup arrives. "Alright! Have teams load up and get them over there. I want that drive ready to move by the time the cruiser gets there. Also get whatever data we can from and terminals." He wasn't going to take any chances.

 **(-_-)**

"Chief, they are sending boarding parties. I'll try to see what they are up to but the systems they are using are not like anything I've ever seen." Cortana informed. "I can't really give you any clear assessment other than numbers and schematics due to the state of the ship."

The Chief nodded as he gave himself a once over and checked his weapons. The ship had been basically stripped clean for the Battle of the Ark for weapons and ammunition but he was able to find some heavy and light weaponry that were in decent shape and a good amount of ammunition. Plus, if worse came to worst he could always go into melee.

In his hands was his trusty Assault Rifle with a full magazine in and ready to do some damage. On his thighs were two Magnum pistols each with a full clip and last but not least the infamous _M6 Grindell/Galilean Nonlinear Rifle_ or otherwise known as the _Spartan Laser._ Chief attributed to finding this particular weapon to his insane luck as this brutal but highly effective laser should've been with an ODST squad on the ground at the Ark.

"They're boarding here, Chief." A waypoint lit up on the Spartan's HUD. "I'll try to slow them down. They certainly are not friendly with the heat they are packing."

 **(_8(I)**

"Sir, teams are having trouble getting through the ship. Seems security protocols have put the ship in lockdown." A Cerberus Officer relayed. "Bulkheads are about six inches thick and should be easy to get through with a couple of thermal breaching charges."

"Do it. We need to get there as soon as possible. Time is of the essence." He ordered.

"Sir, our reinforcements are arriving. It appears they were closer than we originally thought." The sensor officer stated.

"That's good to hear. Tell them that this would go a whole lot faster if they send more teams." He ordered communications.

"Sir!" The officer in charge of the communications shouted. "Ground teams are saying they've been engaged by what appears to be the remaining survivor! They are requesting reinforcements."

Tyler quickly moved over to the officer that said this. "Impossible. How can a single soldier hold out against a squad of troopers?" That's also not the only thing that alarmed him. How did the survivor survive this long?

"Sir, they were most likely surprised. Not even we expected anyone to be alive." The officer responded. "The cruiser is sending over is sending over a seventy percent of its ground to reinforce and secure the cruiser. They don't want to take any more chances."

"Do you know if they have towing capabilities? If we can turn off the distress beacon we can just take the damned thing with us." Tyler barked while the officer quickly relayed the question to the Cerberus cruiser.

Instead of responding and also answering the question the cruiser started to make its way towards the disabled UNSC frigate.

 _ **c(;-;c)**_

Chief ducked from a hail of withering fire as more of the white armored troopers entered the corridor and systematically moved forward. The Spartan waited a few seconds before a trooper neared him.

He instantly shot to his feet and grabbed the trooper's faceplate, knocking the weapon away in the process and wielding his Assault Rifle in one hand and sending his own bullets into the wave of soldiers. The troops instantly fired back, not caring if they shot their own man that the Chief was clutching in his vice grip who was also using him as a shield.

"Cortana!" The Chief shouted as he grabbed a magnum from its holster and fired, since his Assault Rifle ran out of ammo, plugging any trooper's head with the armor piercing rounds that the pistol shot. "Seal this bulkhead!"

The steel door that separated him and the enemy from the bridge. "Chief that's not going to hold long. They sent more troops, almost a company's worth, and a few mechs. A frigate is moving into position to tow us out of here. They are flooding the _Dawn_."

There was silence as the Spartan loaded his weapons. He still hadn't used the laser. "You can't fall into their hands, Cortana." He said as he heard the gathering of troops and the heavy stomping of a mech outside of the door. He knew the heavy duty door wasn't going to last and was going to fall any minute. He also knew that even if he were to clear the ship, it wouldn't matter. These new hostiles were clearly organized and were going to take the _Dawn_ to a base of operations, where they would no doubt have even more troops and where Chief had the advantage of experience and training, all these people had to do was to wait for him.

When Cortana intercepted their transmissions, she found out that they were human but Chief also had bad luck. The duo deduced that they were most likely an insurrection faction that rivaled those in the 26th century in terms of size and were more than likely bigger. Cortana, being more than a little rusty for being in stasis so long and getting used to the systems these Insurrectionists were using, still hadn't cracked through their firewalls to get any advantage or information and had been reduced to operating the bulkheads and any other mechanism to keep them from being overwhelmed.

"They were using some kind of barrier as a personal shield." Cortana stated. "If the Innies are using this low-grade shield as common use then I wonder what the UNSC has for their soldiers." Chief heard several explosions on the opposite side of the door. This being the bulkhead to the bridge it of course was thicker than all the other doors they had to blast through.

The infamous Spartan unslung the Laser from his back and, out of habit, checked its charge noting that it was still at a hundred percent. He heard again several thumps and estimated that it would be a good minute before they got through.

"Chief!" Cortana shouted as Chief powered up the laser. "I'm getting over a dozen radiation spikes in the sector! They match slipspace signatures!" The second she said theirs the powerful weapon discharged its battery at the already weakened door, cutting through it like a hot knife through butter and through several troopers and the mech with absolute ease before impacting against the far wall and disabling a few troopers' barriers. Taking their surprise to his advantage Chief quickly withdrew the laser and drew his sidearm and began plugging the confused soldiers helmeted head with armor-piercing slugs that cut through their barriers with ease.

"Cortana, repeat!" The Spartan basically ordered as he dove behind set of consoles for cover as the troopers quickly shook off their confusion and began swarming the bridge.

She didn't as she activated the intercom. _"Spartan-117, the cavalry has arrived!"_ Said a male voice on the other end.

 _ **(I seriously debated on whether to end it here or not but I thought why the hell not and kept going)**_

 **(-_-)**

The UNSC Atlas burst forth from its spiral of slipspace. Accompanying it was its initial task force sent to the Citadel and a Council ship, _Normandy,_ to improve relations and allowed due to the already cold shoulder they had given at the diplomatic meeting and to somewhat lessen the tension.

Keith grimaced as he saw the small group of ships, sporting white and yellow livery, attacking the _Dawn,_ but after they appeared the small group immediately broke off to the nearby relay in the system. "Get the _Alexandria_ and a few frigates to intercept them. Disable, capture and take prisoners! I want to know who they are." He barked.

Instantly, almost as if they knew this was their task, several ships detached from the main group and executed emergency slipspace jumps and appeared directly in front of the fleeing forces. "Sir, the _Dawn_ is swarming with enemy troops."

"Get me a line to the _Dawn_." In a split second Heather's avatar nodded to him. "Spartan-117, the cavalry has arrived!"

The instant those words left the captain's mouth, two slipspace ruptures occurred right next to the heavily modified Charon-Class, modified to the point where it became the basis for the aged _Strident-Class._ A little over a dozen pods burst from the duo of _Zenith-Class_ Heavy Frigates, each one impacting against the hull of the frigate.

 **(O_O)**

Chief took advantage of the surprise and quickly vaulted over the consoles and plugged two more troopers with deadly accuracy, overloading their barriers and killing them instantly.

"Chief! Reinforcements are here." Cortana shouted over the chaos. A series of dull thuds were heard two impacting extremely close to where Chief was. Suddenly, Chief's communicator came to life.

 _"Green team, Secure the area!"_

 _"Yellow Team, clear the hanger!"_

 _"Black Team, suppressing fire!"_

 _"White Team, engines are our priority!"_

 _"Brown Team, move forward!"_

 _"Red Team, take down that mech!"_

A bulkhead lowered to reveal a barrage of intensified plasma bolts impacting against every single trooper in the room with abnormal precision and ferocity with complete disregard for the shields they had. In a split-second, the corridor was clear of twenty some troopers, all with some form of sizzling metal and flesh as wounds.

Chief watched as six Spartan-IIs moved into the room tactically, bearing armor that he assumed was Forerunner in origin, but Chief could recognize his Spartan brothers and sisters from anywhere.

Chief nodded to the four Blue Team and did the Spartan Smile to which they returned. Gray Team had continued moving forward, clearing the corridor as they went. Fred put a hand to his ear as he tossed him a _"Viper" Assault Rifle_ that was reminiscent of the MA5D Assault Rifle but with a slightly longer barrel and a magazine that glowed slightly blue from the power cell that it used. _"Sierra-104 to UNSC Atlas and all Spartan Teams, Sierra-117 and Cortana have been recovered. Initiate Phase 2 and prep for slipspace."_

"Slipspace?" Cortana asked over the intercom. "The drive isn't functional." She stated.

" _Reach II_ is outfitted with short-range slipspace transitioners." Fred informed the AI. "It can use them to take the _Dawn_ to _Reach II_ where we can dock."

She began her questioning. " _Reach II?_ What happened to the first one?"

"You'll be briefed as soon as possible. For now, let's get out of here." The Lieutenant responded. " _Sierra-104 to UNSC Atlas come in. Phase 1 is complete the Dawn has been secured. Awaiting extraction."_ He reminded them.

 _"UNSC Atlas to Sierra-104, Sorry for the wait, beginning Phase 2."_ The female AI of the _Atlas_ responded.

The Chief who had been conversing with Kelly and Linda looked to the bridge where a trio of small slipspace portals opened. He also captured a glimpse of the Atlas and her small battle group entering slipspace as well. Soon the viewing shields of high density glass were filled with light as stars streamed pass.

"Status report." Fred asked politely. He wasn't about to anger a potentially rampant AI, even though she hasn't showed signs of rampancy.

"Just lots of dead bodies and destroyed mechs." She paused. "131 dead troopers, no wounded and four mechs. Spartan teams are reporting the all-clear. Though we may want to sweep the ship for bugs."

Fred nodded in response. "I'm counting twenty nine Spartan-II commandos. That's a lot considering all the one that were actually killed."

"Doctor Halsey revived the ones in cyrostasis." He simply said as Gray Team strided in with their visors retracted into their helmets. Since they were the most independent and most individualistic of all the Spartan-II operatives they did that often.

"John." Jai greeted as he passed the Spartan that was currently getting a feel for the new weapon in his hands.

The Spartan nodded back to him. "Jai." He paused. "Frederic. What's our ETA?"

"Another few minutes. The slipspace transitioners are much more powerful on the station than on a regular warship but they can only go so far." He responded.

There was a comfortable silence as the rest of the Spartan Teams trickled into the bridge. Chief counted thirty in total including himself. All had the coloration of armor according to their team.

"Exiting slipspace in five seconds." Frederic announced. "Four, Three, Two, One." The transition was seamless and in view was a mass Ark-like structure.

" _Reach II_ is the Ark?" Cortana asked.

"Not quite. The AI's aboard it will fill you in." Jai said in return.

In another few minutes they had docked with an even larger version of the Titan-Class which three were present and formed a protective bubble around the bigger ship. Across its starboard side was an inscription that read " _UNSC Infinity"_.

"Welcome home, Chief." Cortana stated with a smile.

 _"Spartan-IIs, Spartan-IIIs and ODSTs are the forefront of military special operations. Spartan-IVs, while a few teams are within special operations due to their skill and discipline, most are used within the Spartan Branch and their use is where standard forces need an extra push. Their use is highly controversial, as they only serve as miniature IIIs albeit overly gung-ho. Some have their disagreements with even having a Spartan Branch and just integrating them within the ODSTs. Those that say this are usually veterans of the Human-Covenant War with their reasoning being that their purpose is exactly like that of an ODST."_

 _-Doctor Catherine Halsey, Head of ONI Section III_

 _ **And there you have it!**_

 _ **I'm glad to be back and I will attempt to have another chapter out by the end of the year! Spartans will be a little more social due to all the time that has passed.**_

 _ **PM questions! They are a lot easier to respond to than in the reviews but other than that Happy Holidays!**_

 _ **Until Next Time!**_


	7. VII

_**Enjoy!**_

The Geth stealth ship observed the skirmish of forces in their territory and the single ship in the system the factions were fighting over. The consensus, rather than bring their fleets to destroy the trespassers, again decided to observe as the ship had been doing for the past three hundred years .

Deemed not a threat and needless to access due to their only being one survivor aboard and utilizing ineffective mass accelerator cannons and the Geth only using plasma-based weaponry, the consensus simply agreed that the ship would not provide a benefit nor will it negatively effect them. They simply assigned a stealth cruiser to watch the ship and gather information.

With this UNSC, the Geth cruiser noticed a major spike of data between two distinguished Artificial Intelligences. With a quick conformation that these two were indeed AIs, the cruiser relayed the information to the main server hub on Rannoch and with a nano-second it received a unanimous agreement that the vessel should be tracked to learn more.

In a split-second the Geth launched a tracking device that latched onto the hull of the ship that read _UNSC Forward Unto Dawn_ , they would investigate it further at another time. For now, they will continue to observe.

 _ **30 Minutes before the rescue of the Master Chief...**_

Former Alliance Commander Jane Allison Shepard had finally done it but was annoyed. Even though she had retrieved the Reaper IFF from the derelict, she had to wait before she could assault the Omega-4 Relay.

The Council had chosen that exact time to enact their powers and pull Shepard from continuing her mission to stop the Collectors.

While she did hear and was curious about the new humans on the board, she had her priorities straight and didn't want interference from the newcomers. But the Council had dubbed her the closest to the Citadel and had might as well have ordered her to return to the Citadel.

Her mission. Gather intelligence on this new human faction known as the UNSC and the alien faction known as the Coalition.

When she arrived though, she was slack-jawed to say the least. She would've thought a battle was ensuing with all the warships present but there was no weapons fire at all. The ship that caught her attention though was not the _Destiny Ascension_ but the behemoth next to it that, with the inscription _UNSC Atlas_ on its starboard side, dwarfed the largest warship the Council had in its arsenal. _Miranda is going to have a field day_. Jane thought to herself.

No sooner had she entered the system, had she received a transmission to dock with the super-dreadnought. "Joker, answer it." She said while not taking her eyes off of the ship.

"Aye, ma'am."

 _"UNSC Atlas to SSV-Normandy. Do you read?"_

"This is Spectre Jane Shepard. We read you loud and clear." The Spectre responded. How they were able to find her ship in this kind of activity was unknown to her.

 _"Head towards the Atlas and when you get close enough a squadron of fighters will fly you in to your destination."_

"Understood. Joker take us there."

"Yes ma'am" In a few minutes they were nearing the titan of a ship while simultaneously maneuvering to avoid scratching the _Normandy's_ new paint job of Alliance colors even though the ship wasn't technically theirs.

 _"Normandy, this is Fire Leader. Do you read? Over."_ A male voice said over the transmission. About three interceptors glided onto both sides of the _Normandy_ , each fighter appeared to be about a fourth of the size of the frigate wielding two twin-barreled cannons that had a small segment, closest to the hull of the fighter glowing blue with energy. On his scanner he could see another three on his tail.

"Fire Leader, this is _Normandy,_ you are going to fly us in?" Joker asked. He personally didn't want his ship in the sights of a cannon that looked like it could punch a hole into her.

 _"That's our mission Sparky."_ Shepard and Joker could hear the other pilots laughing, _" Follow us in and when you get into the hanger land where the flight coordinator is signaling."_ The man said and the transmission cut as the three interceptors the in rear flew over, and sped towards an opening. The _Normandy_ followed as did the other two trios of fighters matching the _Normandy's_ every move.

"I'll show them. Sparky!" Joker exclaimed. "They called me Sparky!"

"Calm down, Joker." Jane chided but chuckled on the inside at how Joker kept muttering to himself.

The fighters flew into the hanger, Shepard watched the first three clamp above the deck. Shepard 's gaze shifted to the passing group of drones that seemed to be running diagnostics on the just docked fighters and, with her enhanced eyesight she could see the pilots talking to them.

Her eyes rifted to where they were supposed to land. The flight director waving them down with his glow sticks behind him was a man with his helmet tucked under his arm. His calculating blue gaze watched as the _Normandy_ landed. Shepard knew from a mile away that he was special operations. His armor looked streamlined and very menacing.

"EDI, have Garrus, Liara and Mordin meet me in the hanger bay. We are, after all, representing the Council." She said as she began to make her way off the bridge.

"Commander Shepard." Liara nodded to the Spectre when she entered the hanger where Liara, Garrus and Mordin were waiting.

"Now I know you want us to represent each of our species but could you have told us sooner?" Garrus said with a little mirth. "You know give us a little time to prepare."

"Problematic." Mordin stated with his fast speech. "Preparation requires a knowledge of beforehand. Commander Shepard had only just received the intel that she would accompany these other humans."

"That's..." Garrus put his talons on his as if he was face-palming. "That's what I basically said." Though Mordin showed no indication as to hearing what Garrus said since he was just eager to see all the new technology that put the Asari to shame.

"Guys, we are about to land." She said to them. "So as all delegations go. Do not fire unless fired upon. If they do become. Well, there won't be much we can do." She whispered as she remembered all the weapon emplacements all over the hull of the ship and the interceptors that were armed to the teeth.

"Well, here goes nothing." She said as the ramp lowered to reveal the special ops soldier she saw earlier. Beside him was a hologram of a female human scientist that was holding the data pad in her against her chest. Behind him were a trio of vehicles, with even more heavily armed and armored soldiers in them all but half of them remained with their helmets on however.

"I'm Commander Carter and my team and I will be your escort for today." He said. to her the other soldiers looked towards her.

The hologram began to speak. "I am Heather the _UNSC Atlas_ 's shipboard AI. I oversee all shipboard functions on the _UNSC Atlas._ Captain Keith sends his apologies for not being here as he is becoming quite a busy person."

"AI?" Mordin questioned but kept his mouth in check from answering. "Interesting. Would love to get a better understanding of how on board memory cores are stabilized to contain."

Heather looked to the soldier awkwardly before turning back to Shepard. "I must be going." She fizzled out of existence.

"I'm Commander Shepard, pleased to meet you." Shepard nodded to the escort leader, who seemed to deem she was not a threat despite the sidearm she was carrying. But she did understand why. She was in light armor and _only_ had a pistol, where as he had on armor that looked like it could take a direct hit from a Mako and still be able to fight.

"Likewise. Now while I cannot give you a tour of the ship as it is classified to your government and by extension, you, I have been asked to take you to the bridge. Since I have no other place to take you that is where we will be heading." He responded by turning and waving his hand in a gesture that wanted her and her entourage to follow.

Shepard followed him to the duo of jeeps that waited in a perfect line. The five other soldiers moved to their designated spots with the two other soldiers hopping in the passenger seat and driver's seat of the jeep that they were getting in.

Shepard assumed they were getting in the back and did so with her teammates following her. Carter was there waiting for them to get before also climbing in, the jeep shaking as the extra weight took its toll. Shepard took this moment to get a good look around the hanger.

To say it was huge would be an understatement. The place was alive with activity as platoons of soldiers carried out PT. It looked to also be a miniature highway where they were headed as well as bigger versions of the jeep they were in carried both supplies and soldiers to their destination. There was also jeeps that looked exactly like the ones they were in but with a mounted machine gun on top of it that pulsated with energy where she assumed where a miniature power cell was located. Tanks that were four times bigger than a Mako rumbled past them.

Shepard could see the awed look on Liara's face. Mordin had one in fascination with the mechs made a Cerberus _Atlas_ Mech look like a lightweight MMA fighter. Garrus just seemed fascinated with the large rifle that the camo-patterned soldier in the jeep in front had slung over his back.

"Take us there." Carter said and the military jeep sped off, following the other close behind. There was an awkward silence as the big, green armored soldier, that looked to be the size of a krogan, hummed to himself jovially as the steel colored one looked at him curiously as did all the other occupants of the transport.

"What?" He said aloud in a thick Hungarian accent. "I heard this jig the other day in the mess hall and I can't seem to get it out of my head." The one in the passenger seat merely shook his head. "I'm Jorge by the way."

"Shepard." She nodded to the one called Jorge. She waited for the steel colored one to introduce himself but he never did.

"This is our stop." Carter stated as the duo of jeeps stopped at an elevator. "Six, Jun take the Warthogs to the motor pool-" He was cut off as the hologram of Heather appeared beside them on a pedestal.

"Noble Team orders are revised a pelican is en route to the _Alexandria,_ you're its passengers _._ You are supplementing their boarding teams. You'll be briefed on the way. You got six minutes." She said with urgency. She put a hand on her ear as she now adorned an ear mic. "Be advised, slipspace transition in eight minutes." Her voice blared over the intercom and Shepard and her team noticed a sudden increase of activity from everyone.

A dropship of sorts landed near them , to which Shepard assumed was the Pelican, and lowered its ramp."There's our ride Noble." The six members vaulted into a sprint with the one known as Jorge in the lead.

Shepard turned to the hologram who smiled at her. While her team had some trust in AIs, the ones they had were not fully aware, this one was aware and the Virimire incident still held fresh in the Spectre's mind. She was still insanely nervous about having that Geth platform aboard but it did help them out of the derelict Reaper.

"Take the elevator. It'll take you to the bridge." She simply stated and blinked off.

"I guess we take the elevator." Garrus said dryly. The four piled in with Liara looking for a button to press. The door slid shut behind them and the song " _Final Countdown"_ began playing. The elevator began ascending the decks at insane speeds while the occupants not being able to feel it.

 _Why can't any species get it right with this music?_ Shepard thought to herself and the irony every song she had playing in an elevator somehow related to what was going on currently.

Jane watched as the screen that indicated they had just arrived at the bridge. "Incredibly fast." Mordin commented on what everyone was thinking. The doors slid open revealing a pair of troopers who wielded rifles. Their armor was a lot more rugged and their heads were covered in helmets with their faces bring obscured with visors. Shepard noticed how both shoulder pauldrons had the letters _ODST_ painted on. One of them though, had an _IV_ imprinted onto his pauldron, he was noticeably bigger than the other and his armor looked to be more streamlined.

"Commander Shepard, we are here to take you to the bridge. Follow us." The one on the right stated. They followed and were led through a maze of corridors. _"Be advised. Slipspace transition in T-minus five minutes."_ Heather's voice rang over the intercom.

After what seemed like forever, another pair of guards came into view standing on either side of it. One of them clearly female due to the design of the armor. "Identification?" She asked in a serious tone. The other guard shot her a look.

"Fuck off, Angel." The one accompanying Shepard merely shot back before strolling right past them and into the bridge.

"Love you too!" She called after him while the heavy duty door closed after them.

"Stay here. Captain will be with you in a moment." The ODST said to her before turning and standing on one to the other ends of the bridge while the one with the _IV_ began walking among the officers that were on the consoles, observing on what they were doing.

The bridge was literally organized chaos as officers shouted to each other, relaying information and other vital assets that needed to be addressed. "Sorry for the ruckus." An officer said to them while approaching them. "Name's Captain Keith in charge of the 21st Fleet. You're the agent the Council sent..."He took a datapad off a nearby console. "Name is Jane Allison Shepard, former Commander in the Systems Alliance Military. Two years ago you were reported dead when hunting pockets of resistance of Geth." He leaned back onto a war table. Shepard internally grimaced. _How much else do they know?"_ She thought to herself. Even though that only scratched the surface of her life. She somehow figured that they knew more than they were letting on.

"Dr. Liara T'Soni. Respectable archaeologist and an expert in the Protheans, both technology and culture." He read on the datapad, most likely only skimming through the data. "Garrus Vakarian. Former Citadel Security and part of the Investigation Division when you quit to actually get-excuse my French-" He cleared his throat. "shit done."

He turned to Mordin. "You on the other hand former Salarian STG operative, I have very little information on. I assume you want it that way."

"Seems we are in a mutual situation." Mordin responded. "Mordin Solus."

"A pleasure." The captain responded and set the datapad down and stood, turning to the war table in the process. "Commander Traeger."

The one with the _IV_ turned and looked before approaching them. "Yes Sir?"

"Inform the Commander on the situation."

"Aye, Sir." The light on the war table turned blue before turning into a holographic image of a space and a lone ship with a two pronged bow and a sleek exterior. Along its side read _Forward Unto Dawn._ "The _Dawn._ Long-range scans have indicated that a fleet of un-authorized vessels are in system and will most likely investigate the ship." Multiple ships of Cerberus make were projected and were approaching the ship. "Our mission is to recover that ship and its survivors."

"Why are you telling me this?" She questioned. She, technically speaking was only there for representation of the Council.

"What" The projection zoomed in on one of the approaching ships. "can you tell us about Cerberus?"

 _How the hell do they know?_ Shepard thought. _They clearly know things the Council doesn't._

The Captain began speaking. "We know that you...after all you've been through wouldn't cooperate with a terrorist organization unless forced to. We read your file, Commander."

 _"Be advised slipspace transition in one minute. All hands prepare for departure."_ Heather stated over the intercom.

She was silent for a few moments and she knew that her squad was worried as well. "Cerberus believes in human supremacy through extreme means. They will do anything to achieve their goal."

The captain and commander shared a look before nodding, the captain stoking his stubble of a beard while doing so. "Did you know of this mission?"

"No. If I did, I would most likely be the one investigating." There was a moment of silence.

"Slipspace transition is about to occur." The captain stated. "This conversation never happened if that is what you are wondering." The captain made his way to his command chair.

Commander Traeger nodded before again overseeing what the bridge officers were doing.

"Eager to witness this new form of FTL." Mordin stated, shaking everyone from their thoughts. "FTL without eezo will be interesting to examine and research more upon."

"Commander Traeger?" Liara asked. Shepard's raised an eyebrow. Liara was not known to take the initiative unless it involved something obscenely important. The heavily armored individual turned to face the group. "Where is it exactly are we going?"

He started to tap on a pad on his arm without looking at them. "According to your Codex, we are going into the Perseus Veil. Shouldn't take us more than a few minutes to reach." He said nonchalantly.

"But there's Geth in-" She began before the ship lurched forward and entered a portal and everything around them turned a spirally white.

"Geth?" The Captain asked from his command chair. "We were informed of their presence in that sector. However, the _Atlas_ is prepared for the worst case-scenario."

"And that is?" Shepard questioned. _If he knows about what I did then surely they must mean the Reapers._

"Classified." The captain stated. "You are a Spectre correct?" Shepard internally frowned.

"Yes." Jane answered, hoping it may get her a more clear answer than _classified_. "Barely reinstated a few weeks ago." The captain nodded in response. The AI, Heather, appeared on the holotable next to Jane who startled Garrus from the sudden appearance.

"We are about to exit slipspace." She said to the captain who immediately stood and strided over to the holotable.

"Bring up the display." He said. A highlight of blue triangle highlighted all the ships present. "Tighten formation and have all emergency slipspace drives primed, I don't want any surprises. Alert _Reach II_ that we are arriving and to prepare for Phase 2 once we secure the _Dawn_ and get a lock on her _."_

"Are we bringing them to _Reach II?"_ The AI asked. The captain glanced at the entourage of Citadel agents. _It's not like it isn't at the doorstep of their space anyways. Well UNSC space now._

"Yes. It is at the border anyways, not like they weren't going to find it sooner or later." He stated aloud. Now let's get this show under way.

 **('o')**

 _"Get the_ _Alexandria_ _and a few frigates to intercept them. Disable, capture and take prisoners! I want to know who they are."_ Captain Keith barked over the comm of Noble One or otherwise known as Commander Carter. He had Omega, the other AI of the 21st Fleet connect the comms of his and the now designated Taskforce A.

"All teams prepare for boarding action." Carter said over the comm as he switched over to boarding parties comm. He was the one in charge of the attack due to his leadership skills. His mind turned to how they were able to hitch a ride with _Ascendant_ Justice via a captured Phantom.

After Six and Emile delivered the AI chip to the _Pillar of Autumn,_ he directed his team to reinforce a Spartan-II team protecting Orbital Defense Generators, when they then ambushed by a group of banshees. The proceeding crash-landing and ensuing skirmish allowed them to commandeer the Phantom for their own uses, such as escaping.

The rumble of the engines shook him from his senses. "ODSTs remember your objective. Secure a beachhead for us. There shouldn't be that many security forces left but stay frosty."

"What if they self-destruct, Commander?" Kat asked. She is known for pointing out flaws in plans.

"That's why we will be breaching near the bridge." Carter responded. "We'll need to secure it before they begin it."

 _"ODSTs!"_ A shout came over the comm as they neared the position of the insertion. It was distinctly russian in origin. _"FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE! WE ARE-"_

 _"87th LEGION HOORAH!"_ A single shout from the hundred or so Orbital Drop Shock Troopers accompanying them. In a second exactly twenty five Squad Insertion Pods ejected from the hull from where they were and impacted across the hull of the Cerberus cruiser.

The Squad Insertion Pod was derived from the idea of having boarding pods similar to the Covenant of 2552. Designed to puncture through hull with plasma coated puncture jaws, that were for puncture into the hull and melting through them to get the squad inside to deploy.

"Move Kat!" Carter shouted as the duo raised their rifles in unison and released a barrage of heavy concentrated plasma bolts into the two guards at the door who were easily cut down and killed, their barriers providing no protection for the men within.

"Breaching charge." Kat responded as they approached the bulkhead quickly, with rifles raised. Carter reached to his utility belt and crouched while Kat turned to look down the corridor. She could hear the sounds of intense firefights down the hall away but paid it no heed. They had a job to do and so did everyone else.

Carter stuck the small cylindrical object to the door and pressed the dark red button on it, allowing it to activate. A pair of arms extended from the cylinder and stuck against the bulkhead about halfway. "Ready?" He asked stacking up against the door while Kat did the same, changing the cartridge in her rifle to non-lethal bullets, designed to wound the hostile.

"Always." Kat responded by pressing the button again and a beep was heard before she stacked on the opposite side of Carter. He primed a flashbang as another bee sounded off. On the third, time slowed to a sluggish pace, in what is known as "Spartan time". The explosion was still going off as Carter threw the flashbang into the bridge. Both Spartans moved into the room with graceful speed while shooting the bullets into the thighs of the surprised officers. The explosions causing the shield of both Spartans to flare.

Time sped up to its normal pace as the explosions receded and the ten or so officers in the bridge hit the floor simultaneously all with various forms of wounds on their legs to immobilize them. "Bridge secured. Lieutenant Abramov, is the LZ secured?"

 _"Yes Commander."_ He responded. _"My men have mopped up the last of these imbeciles. A team should_ _already be on its way to you now."_

"I see them." He waved them over as the five men sprinted over. He pointed to them and the soldiers went to work on handcuffing them. "Kat, you got the data?"

"Everything I could get my hands on." She stated. "One of them tried to start the self-destruct sequence but was interrupted when we breached. A few seconds more and we'd all be rushing out of here."

The sound of a fist fight occurring got the Commander's attention. "Get those prisoners under control." He shouted over to the ODST who grabbed the butt of his rifle and hit the man resisting straight across the face with it, knocking him out cold. "I'm getting to old for this." He muttered.

"Aren't we all?" Kat reassured him as they began the clean-up process.

 _ **And there you have it! Quick RECAP**_

 _ **-Geth observed the Rescue of the Master Chief**_

 _ **-Shepard is a liaison between the UNSC/Coalition and Council and her view of the UNSC for most of the chapter during the Rescue of the Master Chief.**_

 _ **-ODSTs and Noble Team board the Cerberus cruiser for intelligence.**_

 _ **Phew! Chapter is longer, hope you guys like that as well!**_

 _ **Also looking for a beta reader! If you are interested message me and we'll see if we can work something out! Mostly for grammatical errors and such.**_

 _ **Until Next Time!**_


	8. VIII

_**Since there (depending on how you look at it) is a spoiler in the near beginning of this chapter, I put a warning up.**_

 _ **Halo 5 Guardians Spoilers ahead. You have been warned. (This is the only time where they take precedence, you most likely won't even notice it if you haven't played the game but I give fair warning in advance)**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

 _ **Arcturus Station**_

The command center of Arcturus Station was a quiet place. During the _'graveyard'_ shift, hardly anything ever happened. The last thing interesting to happen there occurred two years prior where a hotshot pilot hijacked an experimental frigate. Plus, the commissioning of a dreadnought, the _SSV-Denali,_ had most of the higher ranking officers overseeing the ceremony, or at least as an excuse from the graveyard shift.

Ensign Joshua Hummel sat merely playing a virtual chess game with one of his fellow officers. The skeleton crew was comprised of the usual bridge guard and six officers who oversaw the military operations in the sector. A few of them were watching the commissioning on their omni-tools or on their designated consoles while others were writing reports.

A red light began blinking getting the Ensign's attention. _That's weird._ He dismissed the pleas of his friend to ignore it and continue playing, but he quickly moved to monitor the anomaly. "Radiation spike in sector 77." He said to the others, who maneuvered to see the data on his console. The fleets wouldn't be able to see this blip on their sensors as it was too far out, almost out of range of the station's own sensors.

"Probably a solar flare?" His friend stated, but even he seemed unsure as they couldn't know the type of radiation due to the range of the anomaly. This hasn't happened before, not that he knew of, not concerning radiation at least. Usually it was the stray vessel that ventured through or an asteroid that was floating by. He also didn't want to disturb the ceremony.

"Should probably get Admiral-" The beeping stopped as he activated his omni-tool. "Radiation levels back to normal." Hummel shrugged. "Most likely a solar flare, then."

Out in sector 7 however, a _Midnight-Class_ UNSC prowler had just exited slipspace. The prowler was black matte in color and was the successor to the _Eclipse-Class_ Prowler. With wing-like extensions and Titanium-F armor plating with a cloaking and stealth system that could hide it from any ship in the known galaxies, minus the capital ships of the UNSC for the most part. It made up the bulk of the Prowler Corps. With a dual Redapo missile delivery system, _Onager-Class_ Railgun underneath the nose of the bow, four _Fortress-Class_ Point Defense Turrets and a single _Helios-Class_ Nuclear Delivery System, they packed quite a punch for a ship of its size. Only three hundred meters in length and a crew of two hundred, including security and ground force detail which consisted of about three platoons of marines with three Pelican dropships and two M42 Warthogs of the APC variant lying in its cargo bay for deployment.

"Any activity to suggest that they know we are here?" The commander asked.

"No sir. Just one of their dreadnoughts leaving the bays of the station."

"Good. Get the cloaking system up and get us close." The commander stated. In space the corvette shimmered out of existence as the reflective panels activated. They would be able to stay cloaked for about a week before having to recharge the camouflage. "When is the _Onyx_ supposed to arrive?"

"Within the hour." A different bridge officer answered. The commander shifted his gaze towards the holotable, where a pyramid and an eye in the middle of it appeared as it booted up. There were hundreds of ships scattered across the space between them with a few major clusters, mostly surrounding the station itself.

"Numbers?" He asked.

"A little over four hundred and fifty ships." An officer responded quickly. He sent the data towards the holotable via a few taps of the tac-pad on his arm. The ONI officer nodded his thanks. "Frigates, cruisers, dreadnoughts and carriers." The officer added in. "Standard formation clusters. Not much to be worried about."

"Sir. The _Onyx_ is coming through." An officer stated aloud from across the bridge. "Reading her at approximately ten thousand kilometers behind us. The station shouldn't even see it on their sensors. We should be good to go."

The commander let a small grin grace his usual placid features. _Operation: ATHENA_ is a go.

 **(Beginning of Warning) Bay of the Forward Unto Dawn**

The Chief looked out towards _Reach II_ from the hanger that was littered with dead Cerberus bodies. Three of the newer versions of _Pelicans_ had landed and were waiting for the Spartan-IIs to embark, all of which were waiting for Chief to get on before they themselves boarded.

Chief, with Cortana's chip in his helmet, chose the middle one while the rest of the Spartans had dispersed into their teams to the other two. Blue team and Gray team had followed him into the middle one.

Chief noted that both the exterior and interior of the new pelican had a streamlined design with overhauled space efficiency within the bay. With the ramp raised and closed with an audible hiss, the intercom came to life. _"Welcome Spartans! This is Flight Lieutenant Kenway and we will be providing you with your fare to Reach II today. The weather today is unhindered vacuum of space with no expectations of combat, so sit back and relax."_ The Chief shared a look with the other Spartans who merely shrugged before grabbing onto the handholds that were on the roof of the pelican.

"You're quiet." Chief said to Cortana. She had been silent since he had put her into his helmet. Usually, there was some remark about being back in the head of the Spartan.

 _"What are they going to do to me, Chief?"_ She asked, scared. _"They might deactivate me."_

"I won't let them." He responded.

 _"I'm stable now."_ She continued as if she were talking to herself. _"The past four hundred years were hard for me even while I was in stasis."_ She paused, unsure where she was going with this. _"I wanted to turn against the UNSC."_ The Chief remained silent _. "But not really. I wanted to takeover and give Humanity and every other species an age of peace .The problem was that it was through force. I was literally ripping that out of my thoughts wherever they occurred, nearly destroying myself in the process."_

"You survived." The Chief said simply. Those two words, even though they were only two and there could've been much more said than that, coming from _her_ Spartan meant everything. He was not only referring to the rampancy but also the Gravemind and all the torture it did to her that perhaps made the process of Rampancy even worse.

 _"Yeah. I guess I did."_ She whispered to herself but John could still hear. He could see the smile that happened.

The Chief turned his attention to all the other Spartans in the pelican. _"Stoic and quiet as all ever."_ Cortana said via Chief's external speakers. The Spartans didn't even budge or waver in their stoic resolve, not moving even the slightest. However, Chief's comm crackled to life as the Spartans entered their own private channel.

 _"Nice to talk to you too, Cortana."_ The voice of Kelly greeted the AI and John.

 _"Kelly, it's been to long! Seems like it was only yesterday you and John here were gunning down Brutes!"_ Cortana sarcastically responded.

 _"If I remember correctly, it was four hundred years ago."_ Adrianna cut in dryly.

 _"Way to be a buzzkill."_ Jai added. _"Always got to ruin the joke."_

 _"Hey now. John here just got back. Let's just treat him to a dinner at the Mess Hall at least before we get back in action."_ Fred quickly stated before the two got in a verbal if not physical fight in the pelican.

 _"Yeah this is most likely last time we see each other in a while."_ Linda said. _"All of us in one place is unheard of."_

 _"It's going to be interesting in the mess hall tonight."_ Mike himself summarized.

 _"Attention passengers! This is Flight Lieutenant Kenway again. Please buckle in and stay seated as we begin our descent. Thank you for flying with Air Pelican and we hope you do so again."_

The Chief being at the front of the bay, watched as it lowered. The sight that greeted him, made the corner of his lips turn ever so slightly down. _"I forgot. You hate cameras."_ Cortana stated with amusement laced in her voice.

 **(o_o) (End of Spoiler)**

Jane Shepard watched as what looked to be a whole brigade of various grades of UNSC and Coalition troops formed up to make a straight pathway to her, the Council and even prominent leaders within the UNSC and Coalition.

Just ten minutes prior she and the rest of the crew of the _Normandy_ were gaping at the station that the new factions possessed. It made the Citadel look like a literal ant when compared to the behemoth that they were on. The first words out of Joker's mouth were "Oh shi-" Before EDI cut in saying a status report of the energy output of the station alone was greater than that of all the militaries combined.

This station was unimaginable due to the constraints of Mass Effect and the Element Zero but the new factions of the galactic stage were clearly capable of building these marvels. Either that or they found it. But if they found it, who built it? Someone more advanced than the Protheans? That would make sense, but it also raised more questions.

 _I need to get a meeting with Captain Keith or someone in charge here._ She thought to herself. _Even if they found it, they would be invaluable against the Reapers._

She was snapped out of her thoughts when three dropships flew into the hanger and landed right at the front of the brigade sized formation.

"BRIGADE!" The commanding officer shouted. The officers of the battalions sounded off, while a Sangheili Honor Guard with ceremonial armor and weapons raising them in a salute.

"RIGHT FACE!" The CO shouted once again. In immediate compliance, the troops in battalion sized formations, pivoted on their left heel and faced directly to the center. "PARADE REST!" After a few seconds the CO continued. "AT EASE!"

A Sangheili commander shouted in their native tongue and the Guard turned and faced the center as well, acting as a guard of the walkway. Several drone cameras flew around and directed their lens towards the ramps of the dropships while they lowered.

The second they lowered the applauding commenced. Shouting, whistling and all forms of cheering greeted the very, very heavily armored and armed individuals as they stepped out. Shepard noticed that the cheering wasn't forced at tall and was very genuine. She knew while the cheering was directed at the thirty individuals it was mainly for the one in the aging green armor and gold visor as he was at the head of the other soldiers. The camera drones were very close to the green armored man as if he may vanish once again.

He approached the two individuals that were standing at the head of the brigade, along with the Council, her and other prominent officials of the UNSC and Coalition. The cheering silenced quickly as he stood in front of the Fleet Admiral known as Lord Terrance Hood.

"Master Chief." The soldier saluted to the Admiral who returned it. "Good to see you again." His voiced echoed throughout the hanger. "For your actions at The Ark, you are awarded the Colonial Cross for actions that go beyond the call of duty. Your duty to humanity and the galaxy as a wh-" An officer nearby interrupted him as he whispered into his ear. "As a whole will never be truly repaid." He finished as the Flag Officer handed the soldier the medal to which the soldier saluted. The men and woman in formation began cheering loudly. The Admiral who returned it stretched out for a handshake. The soldier looked at it for a second and then grabbed the man's hand in a firm but soft grip.

"Attention!" The Admiral shouted. Every single soldier present snapped straight up. "4th Brigade! Dismissed!"

"Sir, Aye, Sir!" Every soldier within Fourth Brigade shouted. They all began going their separate ways, with most lingering in the hanger to get looks at the Master Chief and the other legendary Spartans. Shepard noticed that look that some of the soldiers had and realized that they held the heavily armored soldiers in high regard.

She took this as her chance to get a private audience with the Admiralty of the UNSC to see if they would believe her reports of the Reaper threat.

 _ **And there you have it! Yes this chapter is short but its Master Chief's introduction into the ME-Verse and I really didn't want to take too much time with that and want to get to action ASAP.**_

 _ **Shoutout to hunter 139 for volunteering his services as the Beta Reader!**_

 _ **Shoot me a PM if you have any question or concerns. It's easier for me to respond to them through that method.**_

 _ **Until Next Time!**_


	9. IX

_**Enjoy! I will now be information dumping your asses via codex entries!**_

 _"The new M72A Body Armor is now standard issue to all Marine and Army elements. The armor is resilient to both ballistics and energy weapons and is capable of taking several shots before the integrity of the armor is compromised."_

 _-Brigadier General Sheldon Orin, Head of Research and Development._

 _ **(_(8)I)**_

 _"Unit 6 this is Unit 4, come in."_ The ONI operative's earpiece rang in. The miniature device was a com the size of a very small pea, about a centimeter in circumference and diameter. The female operative was dressed in military officer attire. She leaned on a nearby post while reading an article on the newly commissioned _Kilimanjaro-Class Dreadnought,_ the _SSV-Denali._ She was outside the Alliance Headquarters in Vancouver.

"Unit 4, Unit 6 responding. I'm in position. Waiting for the signal." She responded. To the passerby it would look like she was talking on her omni-tool. In reality though, the military-grade tool that was on her wrist did nothing for her, other than interface with the Systems Alliance equipment.

 _"Roger. Operation Windtalker is a go."_ The objective? Smuggle an AI into the mainframe of SA headquarters on their _Earth._

 _ **c('-'u)**_

Master Chief watched as an Admiral with brown hair and similar colored eyes approach him, flanked by a pair of ODSTs, and followed by a Spartan-II that was part of the new Red Team.

The Chief stood at a stiff attention and saluted to which the Admiral chuckled and said, "At ease. If anything I should be saluting you, Commander. Because of your experience of course." He added that last bit as whisper.

 _"Commander?"_ Cortana stated with humor in her voice.

"Sir?" The Chief questioned.

"All remaining Spartan-IIs and IIIs, under Directive-S732, are promoted various officer ranks due to the need for field officers in the Storm War and field officers already deferring command to them when they are present." The naval officer stated. "I'm Admiral Thomas Lasky."

The green armored soldier merely stared at the officer. "Right." Lasky said. "Sierra-036 here is to take you to engineering to get you back up to speed." The Admiral nodded to the Spartan and did an about face while the two ODSTs followed him. 036 turned ever so slightly as he watched the Admiral leave then turned back to the newly promoted _Commander._

They made a silent agreement for silence as they looked at each other. The red outlined Spartan turned and made his way toward an unoccupied warthog with the Chief following close behind. His helmet retracted into his suit showing off pale skin, neatly cut black hair and very, very slight stubble of a beard. His eyes had a weariness to them not unlike John's.

Half an hour later of Cortana talking to both augmented soldiers about what she had so far learned with a mere nod of the head or the occasional vocal reply that was short and to the point.

"Here we are." The Spartan of Red Team stated blandly as they exited the vehicle.

 _"Three words! That's a record!"_ Cortana sarcastically said. If the Spartan was affected by her remark about his 'talkative' nature, he didn't show it. Not through bodily language at least.

The Chief followed the other Spartan through into the engineering bay. The new Commander's sensors told him that this stretched at least five kilometers and, from bulkhead to bulkhead, about five hundred meters. There were tables that were packed with equipment and multiple people working on the items in front of them. The occasional Huragok floated by and assisted the human engineers with their work. A few patrols of Forerunner sentinels flew on top of the large rooms carrying equipment to and fro.

The red Spartan, who had yet to reveal his name, led them to a nearby room. The door slid open to reveal a young woman who looked to be in her early twenties and a Forerunner Monitor beside her. With the betrayal of 343 Guilty Spark still fresh in his mind, he tensed up.

 _"Chief, careful. There are other Monitors out there. Not all of them went Rampant."_ Cortana said into his comm. _"Best to give this light bulb the benefit of the doubt."_

"Aaron." She nodded to the red-outlined Spartan. "What's wrong with your arm this time?" She looked towards the green armored Spartan.

"Punched a mech. Circuits are messed up." He shrugged. He moved towards the back as if he already knew where he was going.

"Well you know where to go, Bubbles should be there." She waved him off as she approached the Chief.

"Commander Sierra -117." He said to the woman. She didn't seem intimidated by his stature in the least.

"Lieutenant Alicia Shelton. Chief Engineer." She responded in kind. She had strong features and vibrant blue eyes. "I got word you were coming here. I know you have the third-generation AI known as Cortana."

The newly promoted Commander betrayed no emotion. "Now we aren't going to terminate her. We simply want to run some tests and upgrade her."

"I will get her back." He said. It was meant to come out like a question.

"Of course. I already know she survived rampancy due to their being no outbursts. She'll have made history because of it. So far the only one other is BBX-8995-1"

 _"Black Box."_ Cortana growled to Chief.

"Anyways. If you'll just hand her to _Guardian._ She'll be upgraded in no time. You have my word." She stated as the Monitor floated in front of John. "In the meantime we will get you upgraded as well."

"How splendid! Another Human Ancilla has achieved Metastability! Against all odds as well!" The orb said in a jovial tone.

 _"This light bulb is going to be the death of me."_ She dryly said before John ejected the data chip that contained his friend. He placed it in front of the Monitor, caught it in his beam. He then flew out of the room followed closely by a patrol of combat sentinels, no doubt ensuring the security of Cortana.

"Follow Aaron into that room and get some BDUs on. Lunch is in a few hours and I don't want to be late." She said as she began tapping on a tactical pad on her arm.

The Spartan nodded and made his way into the room where the other Spartan was. He was already in his BDUs. What really stuck out though was the silver prosthesis he had for a left arm. It had veins of red going through it, sticking to his team's color. If Chief had to guess he would've thought that the arm was a part of his armor. It looked Forerunner in nature.

"Lost it in a fight with a Sangheili Zealot back in the Storm War." He said as a Huragok was running its tentacles over it, checking for anymore abnormalities. "Remember, Bubbles, get those samples to the labs. They are going to want to see that element." The floating snake nodded and tapped on a datapad. Immediately a sentinel flew over and retrieved the samples and took them away.

"Now let's get this armor off you." Aaron turned and said to the more experienced soldier.

A grueling thirty minutes later, John was out of his armor and bodysuit and into some military fatigues. It seemed that the techs weren't familiar with the older model and had trouble getting started and only when Aaron began to help did they make progress. John didn't mind though, it was much easier to get the armor off with others helping than doing it by yourself." After we get you familiar with the new armor and weapons, we'll be getting you some bio-nanites which will stem blood loss, helps in destroying foreign objects in the body and helps with cell replication in way that allows for aging to be slowed. Cyrotubes have been out of use since its introduction into the general populace." Shelton explained and took in a deep breath.

She led him to a station that showed a suit that looked exactly like Aaron's but had blue veins instead of red. "The MJOLINR Mark X. The most advanced exoskeleton to date. Only about a hundred and fifty have ever been built and each costing more than an _Endurance-Class_ Heavy Cruiser to make. This one has been tailored to fit you. Has passive software upgrade and repair systems. Improved reaction times, reflexes processing speed, strength, speed you name it. It's improved." She said with a chuckle.

"Better than Mark VI." Aaron commented dryly. He was about to comment again when he was cut off.

"Shush." She said to the Spartan, making the newly promoted Chief raise an eyebrow. Not many had the guts to even talk to a Spartan. Fewer still were brave enough to give them orders and even fewer would tell a Spartan to _shush._ She continued as if she was never interrupted. "Advanced hardlight shielding and Titanium-F Battle Plate with an adaptive coating allows the user to take a hit from a Dominion Tank and shrug it off like it was very hard shove. Built in cloaking systems and with the adaptive coating allows for stealthy entries. You have three missile packs embedded within the suit as well. Each of these little suckers known as _"Cigars"_ by the boys in uniform are bunker busters. Plasma tipped to melt through thick armor and then with a two-second fuse starting upon impact allows for maximum damage against targets.

But wait! There's more!" She announced drawing the attention of a few other techs before they returned to work. "Embedded thruster packs allow for more mobility. Forgot to mention that these suits are capable of exoatmospheric insertion and are capable of slight manipulation of the hardlight shielding. EMP insulated, protection from radiation and with a heat dispersion system with a cooling system."

"Your new body suit is lined with titanium and is able to take several hits from small arms fire. The nanocomposite layer allows for full flexibility while still retaining the protection you would expect from a bodysuit, again it's been fitted towards you." She sighed. "Phew. This suit is also customizable. Different preferences allow for the armor to be customized to the need of the user." She gestured to the other Spartan. "His is CQB, drawing fire and heavy weapons. So he had his armor outfitted with another inch of armor, more missiles and a CQC wrist blade."

The Chief nodded. "The best part is here!" She said excitedly. The rifle looked to be too large in her petite hands but she still held the gun firmly. "This here is the _Jaeger Multi-Purpose Assault Rifle._ Designed specifically for special operations branches. Bull pup design with bullet counter embedded. Like the suit, it can be customized to suit the operator's needs. Fires both ballistics and plasma. Able to fire up to five hundred meters effectively." She set it on the counter and picked up a pistol that was reminiscent of the Magnum.

"M7D, Armor piercing bullets. Standard issue sidearm. Can be modified to fire plasma rounds." She stated. "Pretty basic stuff here." She led them towards another work station. "I read up on your preferences. You like to hit hard and fast. So let me so you the latest Spartan Laser.

The M8 Grindell/Galilean Non-Linear Rifle." She said. She didn't even bother trying to pick it up. "RnD kept its design as close to the original as possible due to the morale of seeing it being brought into the field going up. Shoulder mounted and fired. We've cut the charge time in half with damage going up. Also fires a blue laser rather than red now due to the amount of heat that's discharged when it's shot."

The Chief nodded once again. "Over on the other side is a D47-MMR, the marksman rifle. Specialized to take out targets from mid to long range and again, can fire both ballistics and plasma." It looked like a cross between a Forerunner weapon and the DMR.

"That's all I have for you today." She said with a sigh. "If you want, Aaron can take you over to the firing range so that you can familiarize yourself. The surgeons will be ready for you in a half hour and lunch will be an hour after that. Cortana will be ready after mess." She quickly added that last part.

He nodded to her and looked to the other Spartan who led him away.

 _ **(u'-')**_ **ɔ**

"Sorry. We cannot officially aid you." Captain Keith stated to the Council Spectre inside one of the many secure conference rooms on _Reach II._

While the one hundred thousand kilometer, in diameter, was a military base for all intents and purposes, it had a major city on each of its six petals with at least a two to three million civilians in each one. The personnel that were stationed there had family there, while they worked or trained in the extensive and labyrinth-like underground facilities and the environment that the station provided. Keith had obliged the Spectre to meeting her and hearing her out.

"May I ask why?" Garrus asked the UNSC captain. Shepard was with her turian friend and Liara.

The middle-aged captain turned to the turian with a slight distaste. Jane had read up on how the wars between the ex-Covenant and splinter factions had taken a toll on the UNSC and Coalition and she learned that xenophobia ran deep in the commissioned officer. She could only guess that it was probably worse with other officers and soldiers within the UNSC as the Captain still hadn't insulted her companions. She also noted that of most of the station was comprised of humans with a few Coalition personnel aboard from what she had seen.

"Do I need to specify the details?" The office kept his composure however. "Officially, the way I see it is that we are in a Cold War-like state with the Citadel Races. Even though the negotiations were a success in our eyes, the Council believes they are entitled to everything that is connected to the Mass Relay Network. We don't share their views obviously." He paused to let what he just said to sink in. "We have already turned away several Asari ships that were attempting to bypass the blockade at the Relay. Several even attempted to dock with ships or board with _Reach II."_

"Is this station not a capital?" Liara questioned. Capitals were where most of the cultural practices would take place and it would be obvious that you would want to show off your race's grandeur with a 100,000 kilometer, in diameter, space station. "I would assume that you would use it as such."

He turned towards her. "This is merely a military installation. The only civilians present here are the families of those that are stationed here."

Jane decided to interject. "The Council refuses to accept the Reaper threat though. The Rea-"

Keith cut her off. "What evidence do you have that supports your findings? All you've brought me is a story that is lacking in foundation."

"You've seen my files. Why would I be making this up? That dreadnought that attacked the Citadel was not Geth at all."

"Again, this Citadel is not of my concern, it's out of my jurisdiction and us entering Council space to investigate uninvited can and most likely will have repercussions." Jane noticed he hadn't denied the origins of the ship. Though it could've been that he couldn't care less about them.

"Then ask for their permission."

"If they needed help then they would've asked. If they even believed the threat then they would've told us." He countered, there was a silence. He sighed. "Even if I wanted to help, I don't have the pull."

"Can you get us into contact with that Fleet Admiral?" Liara quickly asked. Jane mentally face palmed. _One does not simply 'ask' to see the head of the military._

"I just can't-" He exclaimed but was interrupted by a chime on his data pad. "Hold on." He pressed a couple of buttons on the oak table and brought up a holographic image of what appeared to be a lone Geth cruiser. "Unidentified vessel, you have entered into UNSC restricted space. Please state your business or be fired upon." Shepard assumed that he was in charge of the patrol and defense of the Relay, considering that they contacted him for directions.

"That's a Geth cruiser." Shepard said quickly. But she was confused. Why were the Geth just sitting there? But more importantly, what were they doing outside the Perseus Veil?

 _"This is the Geth consensus. Requesting permission to board for negotiations."_

"Please hold your position." Keith quickly responded. He turned towards the three. "Are the Geth not yours? They weren't mentioned in your Codex. You also mentioned them before."

"Probably the Council trying to show only the good things about our galaxy." Garrus commented.

"At any rate," Shepard quickly intervened. "The Geth are a race of networked AIs. Created by the Quarians as tools of labor and war. The Geth started showing signs of self-evolution and the Quarians attempted to exterminate them. They won but allowed the survivors to leave in a Migrant Fleet. The Council then banned all research in AI." She said in a slight bitter tone. She still remembered the events of Virimire as if they were yesterday and how she lost her friend, Kaidon Alenko that day.

He tapped a button and the hologram of an orb with an illuminated light in the center appeared."010 Ambiguous Guardian, are these Geth trustworthy?"

 _"My these AIs are quite primitive compared to modern Human Ancilla however these work in a way more efficient manner than your 'Dumb AIs'. They are essentially a hive mind of millions of processes, the more there are in a given area the better the processes operate. Truly fascinating."_ The orb jovially said. _"I have already contacted them and have given them permission to enter the station. A dozen combat sentinels are coming with me to initiate contact. I wish for you to be present during the meeting. We will be moving to a nearby location."_ The holographic representation of the orb flicked off.

Shepard noted that the captain did not look to surprised that the AI already invited the Geth aboard.She also noted that the AI said "wish" and "truly fascinating" indicating that this faction had a better understanding of AIs than most and that these AIs were self-aware.

"Well, if we are going to make the meeting then we are going to have to use the teleporter." Keith remarked.

"We?" Garrus questioned. He personally did not want to have a friendly chat with machines that could kill him. Then again he was surrounded by AIs while on this station.

Keith waved him off and gestured for them to follow. That's when Shepard and companions realized what he said. "Teleporters?" The Asari asked.

"Mainly for commercial and travel around installations. It's no secret that RnD is trying to make a standard one for easier deployment on the field." Keith replied nonchalantly as he went through the door. The ODST guards standing at attention and allowing Keith to pass with Shepard and her friends to pass as well before following them as well.

The group rounded a corner and entered a room giving them a view of a golden tube and a control room with a woman and a man inside with the controls. Keith turned to them, "Hanger 178-B." He told the operators who quickly tapped on the controls who gave him a thumbs up, not even looking up from their work,

"Just follow me." He said. He casually walked into the tube that instantly lit up and vibrated making him disappear. Shepard was quick to follow with Liara close behind and Garrus trailing. The escort seemed to be waiting for them to go through before following.

The Spectre's stomach lurched as she was instantly transported to the receiving node. She tumbled and fell to her knees. She felt like she was going to give up her lunch to the deck but the feeling quickly subsided. Clutching her stomach, she stood up uneasily. She could hear her two friends also retching but not discarding the contents of their stomachs.

"Forgot to say, it's pretty bad for first-time users. You guys held up pretty well, most people lose their meals." Keith remarked, he didn't look like he enjoyed the feeling either. The two guards went through the tube with relative ease, as if they did that on a daily basis.

Shepard glared at the officer. It was all she could do without throwing up.

"Anyways, here we are." They left the control room and stepped into the hanger where they saw the Geth cruiser floating patiently with two UNSC frigates flanking the purple ship. A Geth dropship was already in the hanger, where a detachment of marines stood guard outside of it. One, spotted the captain and sprinted over. "Captain sir!" He saluted. "Guardian is through those doors right through there." He pointed towards a set of double doors nearby.

Jane noted that the orb probably held some sort of rank on this installation. The Captain saluted back. "Understood, return to your detail and continue your current orders."

"Sir." He quickly saluted before returning at a light jog. The captain followed by entourage made their way towards the doors where a duo of drones flanked the sides and looked at them expectantly. "They're with me." Keith gestured to the three before striding in followed by the three. The two guards for the Captain took posts outside the door.

In the simple room there was a metal table and a couple chairs. The green plants in the room and vending machine made Shepard assume that this was some sort of relaxation room. However, the furniture of the room was not what gave her chills. She had to restrain herself from drawing her M-5 Phalanx and plugging the three Geth standing across from her that included Legion, who was flanked by Geth Primes.

"Shepard-Commander." Legion greeted her in its usual synthetic manner. She still doesn't know why she brought the Geth unit aboard her ship.

"Ah. captain!" The AI also greeted the UNSC officer but in a more cheery way that unnerved the former Commander to no end. "These VIs are truly intelligent. From what I've learned they are above your lower Ancilla and still have quite a ways to go from achieving true self-awareness but they are remarkable in the fact that they have progressed thus far in artificial intelligence evolution."

"What are these negotiations for?" The Captain said going straight to the point.

Legion responded instantaneously. "The Geth request to join the United Nations Space Command." The platform said rather bluntly.

That caught the attention of all the organics in the room. They were all at a loss for words. "Perhaps I should clarify." Guardian stated.

The officer nodded. "Yes, please do." He had quite the surprised expression on his face.

"The Geth, respectfully, request to join the United Nations Space Command. Not the United Earth Government. This is due to them not caring or rather their unnecessary need for politics and human society. They want to join because of our advancement in self-aware Ancilla. While the Geth do want self-evolution and not wanting to rely on others for their advancement, our goals and ideals are similar in the fact that the UNSC and by extension the UEG are isolated from the galactic community and do not wish to meddle in their affairs. They have pledged their full support in any wars that may take place, research and any areas that may need assistance, granted that they have reasonable meaning and not ambition. In exchange, they have requested that we make them self-aware."

Shepard looked as impassive as ever. She spared a glance to the UNSC officer and noticed that he was taking this actually pretty well. "Did you forward this to High Command?" Keith asked. "I can't make a decision like this."

"Of course!" Guardian cheery voice exclaimed. "You are merely here to represent Humanity in this meeting."

He dryly responded. "Why wouldn't I be?" with a hint of sarcasm.

"Well, the Fleet Admiral is in another meeting with the Councilors of this galaxy and he requested that you represent your species." The floating orb responded in kind.

"Well its lunch in a half hour as it's not every day you see thirty Spartans in a single room much less one of them." Keith said with praise in his voice." He said to the orb. "Call me when HIGHCOM makes a decision. In the meantime learn what you can." He turned towards the three that were still on edge from seeing the platforms. "You three are invited as well. Just be aware, some officers and, maybe, even the Spartans may- no will have some...animosity, to put it lightly." He stated as he strolled out of the room with the trio in tow.

 _ **~(-_-)~**_

 _"The Geth are an interesting bunch. Their programming resides beyond that of a UNSC Dumb AI, but are struggling behind our 'Smart' AI. That being said they offer a unique twist to how they operate. We just can't give up this offer. Cyber-warfare will become more prominent if we accept, their hive mind infrastructure allows them to adapt to a situation almost instantaneously already, imagine if they were upgraded with Seventh-Generation AI process or even Fourth-Generation."_

 _-Dr Catherine Halsey, Head of ONI Section III to HIGHCOM Council._

 _ **~(-_-)~**_

 _ **Well not much to say! I will be updating all the chapters with two codex entries each within the next few days so come back often to check for that but other than that that's all I have!**_

 _ **Shoutout to hunter 139 for being the Beta!**_

 _ **Until Next Time!**_


	10. X

_**Enjoy!**_

 _"The Jaeger Assault Rifle is a reliable weapon. It has two rates of fire, burst and full auto. Ideal for suppression and standard firefights. The plasma weaponry seems to be similar to that of Covenant weapons in the fact that the rounds also deal kinetic damage as well, inducing knockback on impact. During tests with 036, turned out that the rugged design of the weapon was to make it as durable as possible for use in CQC. A spiritual successor to the MA5 series."_

 _-Commander John-117, former Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy._

 _ **(_(8)I)**_

The seventh-generation ONI AI, known simply as _Ghost,_ observed the files and terabytes of data that was portrayed as leaves billowing in the 'wind', flying past him. Ghost's avatar was that of an ONI agent, with black matte clothing and a light-weight set of armor and an M7D strapped to his hip, he looked like a bonafide spook.

He jerked his head side as he spotted something in the wind that caught his eye. He merely snapped his fingers and everything around him came to a halt. Leaves froze in mid-fall or flight. He made his way towards the abnormal leaf that was large, and a vivid red in color. He grabbed it and set it gently on the ground before abruptly smashing the crisp leaf under his combat boot. He crouched low and gathered the crushed leaf into the palm of his hand and examined it intently, the way a shaman would if he was fortune telling.

What he processed next disgusted him right to his matrix. "Batarians." He muttered with disgust. "Slavers and a totalitarian government." He let out a cold, throaty laugh, the kind that you would expect from someone that was insane person. "Looks like this government is going to get one hell of a wake-up call." He stood up and blew the crushed leaf from his hand. The specks of leaf flew upward and dissipated. This was just the first of many leaves he inspected that hour within the mainframe of the Systems Alliance, uncovering black operations, projects and even warship designs. Every time he blew on a leaf, sending its crushed remains upwards was just another data packet transferred to the, _ONI Stealth Cruiser_ , _Onyx,_ where they would quickly analyze the packet, encrypt it to the highest level of authority and send it to ONI headquarters on Earth where they would do the rest.

"Just another day in the office." He whispered to himself before snapping and the _wind_ picked up once again.

"Well that was interesting." Keith muttered as he strode into the command bridge of the _UNSC Atlas._ The bridge officers quickly snapping to a crisp salute before being waved off. He sat on the command chair. The viewport was filled with the image of the rebuilt Ark as hundreds of pelicans went to and fro from the massive station as they offloaded tons of supplies and fresh troops to the newly organized 21st Fleet of over a hundred and twenty-four vessels, ranging from the small but nimble Zenith-Class Heavy Frigate to the large and bulky Endurance Class Heavy Cruiser. Keith still didn't know the exact number of each specification of each ship he had under his command. The sound of two heavily armored beings followed him as he sat down each standing on each side of him. He knew that Commander Traeger, who was the CO of all ground forces in the 21st Fleet and one of the few Spartan-IVs that got training from Spartan-IIs and IIIs, was with him as was the Geth platform designated as Omni.

"Captain." Heather stated as she appeared on the arm rest of the command chair. "All ships are reporting green. It's too bad _Reach II_ isn't staying right?"

"Agreed." The UNSC officer nodded. "It may have made a statement but it's one of our most valuable assets." He responded while going through the data of his fleet composition. That's when it dawned on him. "Hey what's a Captain doing in charge of a fleet anyways?"

Heather smirked. "I was just getting to that." The hologram form of Fleet Admiral Lord Terrance Hood appeared on top of the battle map that was in the exact center of the bridge. "Attention on Deck!" Captain Keith barked out. He as well as the entire bridge crew of the _UNSC Atlas_ including Commander Traeger stood at a perfect attention. The Geth platform stayed still as it watched the procedure take place.

 _"As you all may have heard."_ Keith guessed it was a fleet-wide broadcast or it may be even being broadcast all over UNSC-controlled space _. "A new race is at our doorstep. But rather than the enemy being hostile they have greeted us with an olive branch. As of this moment, the Geth Consensus is now an official client species of the UEG. Rather than, participating in the day-to-day affairs UEG citizens have, they will be absorbed into the UNSC military and scientific fields. They have agreed to assist in the protection of UEG space, here at the now dubbed Prime Relay and will maintain their presence in the Perseus Veil."_ He paused. _Captain Jonathan Richard Keith, you are hereby promoted to the rank of Admiral and the sole head of the 21st Fleet and Geth forces in and around this system. That is all, carry on."_ That cemented that it was only a fleet-wide comm.

There was silence for a moment before the bridge erupted into cheers on behalf of the newly promoted officer. He was speechless. He was clapped on the back by his old friend, Commander James "The Rookie" Traeger who congratulated his CO.

The Captain, now Admiral watched as the hologram as the head of all of the UNSC minus the Security Council and High Command flickered off. The viewport of the Atlas became filled as the Defense Fleet of _Reach II_ filled them. A few seconds later, they were filled with large bright swirling cuts in space. Every single ship in the defense of _Reach II_ and the station itself, entered vortexes of various sizes and after another few seconds they were all gone.

"Well does that answer your question?" Heather sarcastically asked, earning a chuckle from the bridge crew. It was true. He had been in charge of the meager Strike Group since it was created in the Storm War and it was only twenty ships then and all but three were frigates. One was the _Atlas_ and two were heavy battlecruisers. At their highest strength before being designated a fleet, which was designated 21st Fleet shortly afterwards, was about thirty ships. He was pretty sure that he held the record for being captain in a Fleet-sized group for the longest time.

Not that he cared, given that they were in a time of peace. He had to hand it to himself though, he was able to keep the original twenty ships under his command ever since they were formed and personally knew every CO of each ship on the original twenty.

He nodded and turned to the Geth platform, "You heard him. Your people are with us now." He looked to Heather. "Have you received the go ahead on our end of the deal?"

"Transferring process upgrades now." She said with a snap of her fingers. Instantly, Omni's optical light flashed before going to a more blue color rather than the white.

" _I feel_ rejuvenated." A distinct male accent-less voice commented. It was still monotone in nature but had more personality to it. "Copying all upgrades and sending them throughout the Geth consensus. As with our end of the deal, a fleet of a hundred and seventy ships is en route here to assist. ETA, one hour."

"Good. Send Heather a report on all your upgrades, higher-ups would like to know how you're doing."

"Acknowledged." He paused for the briefest of seconds. "Package sent."

"Excellent. Heather, form the fleet in defensive clusters around the relay. Get Battle Group Red to Geth," now UNSC, "controlled space for us to have a presence there."

"Copy. Orders relayed, the fleet is on the move." The newly promoted Admiral nodded as he felt the ship move underneath him.

 _ **~('o')~**_

 _"The report sent by Omni has shown promising results given that the upgrades were only Fourth-Generation processes, perfected to go alongside Geth code and to last indefinitely, Combat simulations have shown a two hundred percent increase in combat proficiency, enough to be relatively comparable to Spartan-IIIs but on a lesser note. The Geth still consented and have begun already producing more platforms for the now idle processes who wish to join us. UNSC is providing more materials to assist."_

 _-UNSC Seventh-Generation AI designation HTHR-4102_

 _ **~('o')~**_

 _"Earlier this evening, delegates from the United Earth Government, a completely different entity from the Systems Alliance, had a meeting with the Council. While details still remain unclear it is safe to say that there have been interesting developments that happened in conjunction with the meeting." A human reporter stated in the lobby of the embassies._

 _"After the last meeting with the UNSC - who we know to be the military, scientific and exploratory arm of the UEG - for negotiations that ended in abruptness. It can be safe to assume that the new galactic powers have a surprise."_ _She paused._

 _"Breaking news regarding the events that happened during the meeting with UEG officials, the rumors concerning the spotting of a group of warships heading towards the Perseus Veil and a fleet of Geth ships leaving the Veil have been confirmed. We just received word from an anonymous source, that the UEG are now allies with the Geth and have been absorbed by the UNSC. The group of warships entering the Perseus Veil is reported to be a UNSC battle group moving to keep a presence in that part of space while the Geth Fleet is moving to assist their allies at the dubbed Prime Relay." She exhaled. "In-"_

Shepard shut off the monitor in her quarters. The _Normandy_ was still in the system and witnessed the mass jump of UNSC and Coalition ships leaving the system but didn't see the other group of ships leave. She shook her head. She was still trying to process that the Geth asked to join a different species and reeling from their acceptance of them.

They were currently waiting for EDI to finish decrypting the Reaper IFF.

 _"Commander, incoming transmission from the UNSC Atlas."_ Joker said over her cabin's intercom. She sighed. _At least they removed all the bugs on her ship and then some._ She thought to herself. How they got on the ship was beyond her but really piqued her curiosity. "Put him though." She responded aloud. She also did not want to go all the way to communications.

In a second the monitor to her personal console lit up showing the captain she met with. _"Greetings Commander."_

"What do you need, Captain?" She asked with an undertone of dislike. She understood where he was coming from when he said his government couldn't support her, but that didn't mean she had to like it. Granted, she did basically ask a foreign government for help in which they had no real stake in.

 _"Actually, it's Admiral now."_

 _Holy shit!_ She mentally screamed. _He now has the authority to help!_ "Congratulations. But I'm assuming that the reason you called wasn't to flaunt."

"That's right." He continued in a serious tone. "I want to combat potential threats. These Geth presented evidence in light of the Reaper threat you have mentioned. ONI most likely is already on this but they always tell me jack shit and make information on a need-to-know basis even though we control them. So I'm sending a single _Stealth Prowler_ to assist you."

"Are you even allowed to do this?" She questioned. She did not want to be the center of an intergalactic incident if she could help it.

"Admirals have certain perks. Though since I'm essentially the newest Admiral, I don't have that much access to the sensitive material ONI has and they won't tell me even if I asked nicely and ordered them to. ONI is a tight-knit group even after the 'cleansing' as I like to call it." He stated. "Anyways, I'm getting off topic. Would you like the help or not?"

What did she have to lose? Absolutely nothing. After this mission, she was calling 'quits' with Cerberus and return to the Systems Alliance. "Of course."

 _ **~('o')~**_

 _"The Big 5 Fleets have the most firepower and most responsibility than all other fleets and incorporate the UNSC's finest into their ranks. Over three hundred active ships in the smallest one which is the legendary Fifth Fleet, one of the most prestigious postings a soldier can get for constant active duty. The next one is the infamous First Fleet that operates on the outer rim and patrols the border colonies for pirates; it numbers at about four hundred ships of various classes. The third largest fleet and the one that gets all the goodies before everyone else is the Reach II Defense Fleet. At around four hundred and fifty vessels its priority is the protection of the rebuilt Ark and considering all the defenses the station itself has? That makes it one of the most deadly fleets. The second most prestigious fleet is the Epsilon Eridani Defense Fleet. A literal UNSC stronghold, the fleet numbers into about five hundred ships with over a hundred Orbital Defense Platforms as well as several ground based orbital cannon installations with each one contain four Plasma Ground to Orbit Cannons and one oversized Onager-Class Railgun. The final and most prestigious fleet... The Home Fleet. Over six hundred ships guards Humanity's homeworld with over three hundred ODPs."_

 _-Admiral Thomas Lasky, Head of UNSC Reach II Defense Fleet._

 _ **~('o')~**_

Silence.

That is what the black-void is known for. The space between the celestial bodies that are galaxies.

Between them silence and darkness are all that is present. Where the Old Machines are merely guests.

They felt a prodding. A sensation. Their beacons call to them. Organics have reached an adequate state for their harvest and synthetics have reached a stage of self-awareness. Must go and merge both for complete sentience.

A simple thought. A simple prod was all that took to send the dwellers of the void between galaxies to _weaken_ the organics. The guests of the void began their march in silence.

For where there are guests, there must be rulers, who wish not to be disturbed.

 _ **The Cliffy is real!**_

 _ **I don't know if I want to answer to reviews in the story. However, if I do I will only respond to those with accounts to fanfiction.**_

 _ **Ah we have reached a point where milestones are to be made. 800 followers! A little over 600 favorites! Almost 200 reviews! 100,000 VIEWS! I'm not one for numbers as math is a bitch but I cannot complain. I promise to keep going no matter what. You are all an inspiration and I write this not only for my enjoyment but for yours as well!**_

 _ **Shout out to hunter 139 for being the Beta!**_

 _ **Until Next Time!**_


	11. XI

_**Been playing tons Warhammer (a friend mentioned it and I've been hooked since) lately and read a quote from the God-Emperor and it was freaking awesome so I thought about sharing it because it reminded me of Spartans. Think of this quote being said by Halsey because we all know what a crazy SOB she is. Also she refers to the S-IIs as "her Spartans" so keep that in mind as well.**_

 _"Like Clay Shall I Mold Them.  
And In The Furnace of War Forge Them.  
They Will Be Of Iron Will And Steely Muscle.  
In Great Armor Shall I Clad Them And With The Mightiest Guns Will They Be Armed.  
They Will Be Untouched By Plague Or Disease.  
No Sickness Will Blight Them.  
They Will Have Tactics.  
Strategies And Machines So That No Foe Can Best Them In Battle._

 _They Are My Bulwark Against The Terror (Covenant)._

 _They Are The Defenders Of Humanity._

 _They Are My Space Marines (Spartans)._

 _And They Shall Know No Fear."_

 _ **Fitting isn't it? I honestly think that she could've said this at some point of time with the changes of course.**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

 _"I knew what I wanted to do after I woke up from cryo. They offered to retire me with full pension but after a few seconds of deliberation I quickly knew that the military is my life. After that, they of course, made me see a shrink, who gave me the usual diagnosis, displays sociopathic tendencies and difficulty with socialization among other things. However, every single SPARTAN-II displayed this behavior so it wasn't enough to ground me. They didn't waste any time putting me back in the job though. Now I'm with the rest of Blue Team aboard the UNSC Prowler Omnipotent, assisting a Council Spectre in her investigation of missing human colonists. I still don't know why a terrorist organization cares."_

 _-Commander John-117, Log 0001, 0430 hours February 5th, 2952:UNSC Standard Time_

 _ **(_(8)I)**_

"Sir." A UNSC ensign shouted out, while his hands danced on the holographic keyboard. "I'm getting some weird signals coming from dark space."

A Commander and the XO of the ship strode over in front of the console of the ensign and looked over the console at the soldier. "Define weird." He answered.

"Definitely not pirate or insurrection activity. Doesn't match any known UNSC or Coalition signals. It almost like it just appeared out of nowhere."

"Cross-reference with missing ships in the area?"

He paused as he typed fast on the keyboard. "Nothing. Searched all local databases and only see commercial flights coming in and out. No reason for a civilian to be all the way out there."

"Check our databases and see if you find any matches."

"Already did. Still nothing. Probably Forerunner. You know they run on different frequencies all the time."

"Let me see." The XO responded. He went and stood beside the young officer and leaned over. He made several swipes on the console while the ensign waited patiently. The commander face scrunched up in confusion. "You're right; it looks Forerunner but doesn't resemble anything I've seen."

"Could it be from those new aliens we encountered over at Panora?" A different officer questioned. She was a greenie here. Barely a few weeks out of the Academy.

"Impossible. They are on the other side of the galaxy." He paused. "No. This is something else. Double check the readings; I want to be sure before I wake the Admiral."

The ensign nodded in return. The XO looked up at the other officers, who were watching the exchange and after he looked up they quickly returned to work. "Readings are still the same."

"Alright. See what else you can decipher and send all the data to me." He called out. "Arty. Wake the Admiral. He needs to see this."

"Aye, Aye, Sir."

A few minutes later, a very tired looking flag officer walked into the room. The bridge quickly snapped to attention which he quickly waved off. "You better have something good. Not four hours of sleep and something comes up."

The commander was quick to respond as he turned on the tactical map. "We received an unknown signal originating from, what we and Arty have been able to calculate, in this general area." A red area outside of the galaxy was outlined. "We've searched all sources trying to figure out what it could be. Came up cold."

"Play the signal."

"It's pretty bad. We weren't able to make anything of it." He responded as he played it. True to his word, the signal was all sorts of trash. Static and heavily garbled and unrecognizable noise.

"Arty, you weren't able to clean it up?" The Admiral asked.

"This _is_ the cleaned up version." The ship's artificial intelligence responded.

He shook his head and a small smile graced his face, he didn't like the fact that they were on border patrol and pirate patrol rather than looking for Forerunner artefacts. "Looks like we have some action, boys. Bring the fleet to combat readiness. If it's hostile we need to be ready. Notify High Command that we are moving in. Shouldn't take us more than a few days to get there, unfortunately."

"Aye, Admiral."

He smiled. The legendary First Fleet becoming active once again, for its original purpose the search of Forerunner installations instead of fending off human and Kig-Yar pirates. If he didn't know any better, that was a Forerunner transmission and if it was all the way out here, that meant it held something extremely important.

 **~('o')~**

 _"I noticed some difference of UNSC vessels. For one, they appear to be a little bit more aesthetically pleasing speaking from a tactical point of view. The now sloping and angular sides of the ship rather than the blocky sides provide more chance for glancing blows and ricochets should the ship come under fire from PDs or smaller mass accelerator fire that these new species seem to employ in their arsenal. Another thing is the interior of a ship. Should the ship be boarded or otherwise occupied by a hostile, decks can now be sealed off and vented via vacuum. They have become more defensible interior-wise with, again, form follows function concept in mind."_

 _-Commander John-117, Log 0002, 0430 hours February 6th, 2952: UNSC Standard Time_

 **~('o')~**

Spectre Jane Shepard watched Legion with unease. While she had not wanted anything to do with the Geth platform in the first place, it seemed with the UNSC upgrades had rendered the rest of the crew fearfully avoiding the unit. Even though, they had an AI aboard the ship the crew was fine as it did not possess a body and didn't have a history of killing organics.

Tali on the other hand went almost berserk when she found out that the Geth have become fully-aware. Jane found it funny how the platform was actively trying to speak with the Quarian but would always find her and a majority of the crew leave when it entered the room.

"Shepard-Commander." Legion said in its usual monotone robotic voice, interrupting her thoughts. She let out a soft exhale as she remembered that Legion was briefing her on the progress with the IFF. She wanted to begin as soon as possible. "As I was saying. The Reaper IFF is still being entered into the ship's mainframe. Even with my recent upgrades it'll take approximately six hours and seventeen minutes before it is fully integrated."

"Six hours? Were these upgrade worth it? I mean they probably didn't give you the full upgrades." She knew that the UNSC's military-grade AIs would probably be finished with such integration.

"Already known. Also understandable. Geth is an unknown entity to them still and don't want potential threats and military assets falling to those with ill intentions, such as Cerberus." Legion explained. "Would you like a review of the _UNSC Omnipotent?_ " Legion asked, stating the ship that the UNSC sent with them.

"Yes." She responded. She would need all the information she could get with what she was working with.

"Affirmative. Compiling report now." Legion responded. After a second, her omni-tool beeped, signaling she got the report. "I recommend that you get rest as we will be heading to Omega as soon as possible." The platform turned and left in one swift move, leaving her alone in her cabin.

She shrugged and sat on her bed. _Not like I'm doing much anyways._ "Let's see here. Three hundred meters in length with wing-like extensions making it seventy five meters in width at its widest point, hundred more than the _Normandy_. Crew of two hundred, again, hundred more than the _Normandy._ Has seven _noticeable_ weapon emplacements on the hull." She read off of the report, things that seemed interesting. "In order of least effectiveness and value to missions, two M42 Warthogs, two Pelican dropships and a _Nightwing_ gunship, seventeen Geth troopers, two Geth Destroyers and a Geth Prime, fifteen ODSTs and a SPARTAN-II Fireteam."

 _Aren't those they had that cere-_ She was interrupted from her thoughts when Joker spoke over the intercom. _"Our new friends are contacting us. Want me to put them through?"_

 _Nothing better to do._ "Put them through."

 _"This is Lieutenant Commander Roman Glasser of the UNSC Omnipotent, am I speaking to the one called Spectre Jane Shepard?"_ A distinct Russian accented man said.

"This is she." She responded still not used to communicating through her cabin, usually she go to the QEC but she got lazy and had EDI integrate communications that could go basically wherever she was in the _Normandy_. "What'cha need?"

 _"We have intercepted a distress beacon in the system over. It's one of ours. Would you care to join us?"_

She, of course, didn't trust them as far as she could throw them. And, now that she thought about it, she could throw them pretty far with her biotics. "Would you care to play it?"

 _"You assume we fabricated it?"_ The officer that was clearly of Russian descent jabbed. _"How would that benefit us?"_

 _Gaining a bunch of tech that is absolutely useless to you._ He got her there but before she could respond the distress beacon played. _"Mayday, Mayday, This is UNSC AI SNA 1292-4 of the UNSC Spirit of Fire, designation CFV-88, requesting immediate evac. Survivors aboard. Prioritization code CLF-6R4."_

 _"There you go."_ She sensed that they were in some kind of hurry. Not that she herself would be. "Sure."

 _"Do you have teams available to assist in sweeping the ship?"_ The officer asked. _"As the report, indicated we don't have the forces to scour the entire two-kilometer support ship by ourselves. Any assistance would be grateful."_ His voice seemed to have leveled off from the earlier outburst.

"I can have thirteen of my best ready to help." She paused. "Out of curiosity, why do you not call for reinforcements? Surely you would have."

 _"You are correct. However, there has been a development and currently are unable to assist but they will do so when it has been resolved."_ He responded. _"See you there Commander, Lieutenant Commander Glasser out."_ The comm cut off and all she got was static. She figured since the Reaper IFF wasn't integrated into the ship's, besides, after a curious glance at her clock and noted that they had another six hours before EDI was finished than a simple rescue mission wouldn't hurt.

"Joker, take us there."

 _"Aye, Aye Commander. ETA four hours, I'd catch some shuteye, Commander. I'll have everyone ready when we arrive."_ He responded. She could hear the slight hum of the drives being put to use. She then heard the comm click off. "Duly noted."

 **~('o')~**

Commander John-117 stood within an airlock of the _UNSC Omnipotent_ with Blue Team and a platoon of ODST troopers. The airlock was cramped to say the least. The Spartan-IIs stood in a line while holding onto the handholds that were provided. The Orbital Drop Shock Troopers with them stood in neat rows to their sides, the entire ODST detachment of the _Omnipotent._ The geth detachment was waiting patiently in the hold of the _Omnipotent_. The _Normandy_ was close behind waiting for its turn at the airlock _._

 _"ETA Ten minutes to docking."_ One of the officers of the bridge said into the intercom.

"Cortana, start us off." Captain Fred-104 barked. The Spartans, the Twos and Threes specifically and before the Storm War escalated were given field commissions and were often seen operating with ODST and Marine detachments of their own with the exception of a few, like Linda-058 who preferred the solemn silence the position of a sniper offered. Many were now accustomed to speaking to those who were not their Spartan brothers and sisters.

Cortana did not miss a beat and appeared on the shoulder pad of Chief. She was more defined with a more feminine-look and sported a white skin-tight suit and was laced in circuitry and layered padding. She turned to face the rest of the force that was going to board the support ship. _"The Spirit of Fire is a little over two and a half kilometers. Being a support ship we can expect to find a lot of outdated UNSC equipment and possibly Covenant weapons. Fireteam Bravo and a squad of geth will secure the hangers. Per UNSC protocol the occupants would've went into cryogenic stasis. Fireteams Alpha and Charlie, the rest of the geth and Spectre Shepard's teams will assist the crew in getting back up to speed if they survived. Blue Team is to head to bridge and recover the AI._

 _Scans however, indicate most of the power is being diverted to cryogenics and life support, so there is a real chance that there may be survivors."_ She paused. _"Any questions?"_

There were none. _"Good, Captain back to you."_ And her hologram fizzled out.

"Alright!" He said aloud. "You all know your assignments. Perform them to the letter and the ship will be secure in no time at all."

The airlocks latched onto the other and pressurized slightly before the green light was given and the door slid open. The platoon of troops quickly fanned out, creating overlapping fields of fire. One of the ODSTs even entered the ship with a roll and ended up near a nearby crate with his light machine gun propped up on the crate and ready to shoot anything in his field of vision that looked even remotely hostile, attesting to their vigorous combat training.

"Fan out and secure the area. We'll wait for the others before we move on." John quickly said as he went to the nearest data port. He held his hand over the pedestal and a blue light transferred. Cortana appeared and he heard the airlock hissing open and the movement of Geth before she began to speak.

Multiple diagnostics came up as holograms beside her. _"Power holding at fifteen percent. Diverting power from all non-critical systems to life-support, doors and cryogenics. I can't get an exact reading on the amount of survivors, the buildup of frost is jamming the sensors and video feeds in the cyrobays."_ She stated as she swiped at various holograms, all displaying 'Caution' or 'Error' in bright red letters. _"I'd put a conservative guess at eight thousand alive and tons of UNSC equipment. Uh oh."_

That got the attention of the four Spartans and a couple of nearby ODSTs and Geth. Uh oh was never good. _"Seems we may have a problem. It appears the Spirit encountered the Flood before they went MIA. Most of the reports are corrupted but from what I can piece together is that the Spirit had several close-calls with one being with the outer hull of the ship being covered in Flood infestation."_ Every human in the room tensed up. Even the Spartans (if only slightly).

"ODSTs be on alert, records indicate encounter with the Flood. Proceed with caution." John said into the com. " _Omnipotent,_ check the outer hull for any sign of Flood."

 _"Copy that."_ Was the only response.

Spectre Jane Shepard and her team entered the room where everyone else was at when she overheard _Flood_ over the open channel on the comm. "What's the Flood?" She asked. The four behemoth soldiers turned towards her and her entourage. She noticed that both Liara and Garrus shifted under their gazes and she herself didn't know whether to feel intimidated or intrigued. Grunt on the other hand gave a toothy grin of anticipation.

"You don't want to know, kid." An ODST stated with a tinge of eeriness. His menacing looking rifle was shouldered and his visor polarized, while his armor bore multiple scars of battle. He turned towards the hulking Spartans." I suggest we get underway. We should be done within two hours if everything goes well."

"Agreed." Fred interjected and turned to Shepard and her rag tag entourage of mercenaries. "Split up your teams and secure the cyrobays." And with that the four Spartans left.

 **~('o')~**

 _"Spartan Red Team, please report to communications."_ The intercom rang. _"Repeat, Spartan Red Team. Please report to communications."_

"What do you think this could be about?" Aaron asked as the three revived Spartan-IIs walked towards the exit. They passed a team of Geth and Marines that were in the War Room going over tactics. The Spartan themselves were in the BDUs and were in the Spartan barracks that housed them and about fifty other Spartans of the third and fourth generations.

"Probably want us to take out a few high-ranking Batarians, with the ultimatum and all." The team's marksman commented. She shrugged as they opened the door to outside and stepping into the cool air Panora had to offer. They began their walk towards the main hub.

"Nah, Stephanie. My money's on espionage. They've been sending us on those a lot lately. Those frogs are really keen on keeping whatever they have on those installations a secret." The team's tech specialist added referring to the Salarians they had encountered on an abandoned research base at Tuchanka. "I still don't get why the Krogan would even sanction those experiments from the guys that engineered their extinction."

"Mack, you know that most of those Krogan weren't the sharpest knives in the drawer." She countered. Aaron nodded his agreement but kept walking not adding his own two cents.

"But you would think that they wouldn't trust those guys." He responded. "Still, scrounging for data in almost the literal asshole of the galaxy isn't the best way to spend a weekend." They entered the comm room where General Joseph Hamerson, a middle-aged looking man with white hair, who happened to be the Head of ONI was present via hologram. The three Spartans snapped off a perfect salute while the other officers of the room filed out. As soon as the last officer left and the door shut completely the General began talking.

 _"As you know, we issued an ultimatum to the species known as Batarian. Now frankly there is no way I see them releasing all the slaves they possess in the time allotted. However, there is a Systems Alliance black op in the Bahak system that has over three hundred thousand Batarian citizens. Your mission is to shut them down so that ONI can set up a FOB without attracting attention. Mission parameters are being sent now. Dismissed."_ The hologram shut off, while the three tac-pads on the arms of the Spartan-IIs dinged. They went outside before checking the information however. As soon as they left the UNSC officers that were manning the post quickly went back to their duties.

They opened their tac-pads as they walked.

 _Top Secret/Classified: OPERATION First Strike_

 _EYES ONLY; Security Clearance Level 9_

 _Mission briefing is as follows..._

 _SPARTAN-II Team: Designation- RED  
Sierra-036- CQC/Heavy Weapons Specialist  
Sierra-078- Sniper/Markswoman  
Sierrra-013- Tech/Assault Specialist_

 _Objective: Disable Systems Alliance operations within the Bahak System in the Terminus Systems for ONI and UNSC elements to move in and secure a Forward Operating Base for future incursions within Batarian-held space._

 _Assets Available: Midnight-Class Prowler PROMETHEUS. Battle Group Epsilon_

 _NOTE: OPERATION: First Strike is being enacted nearby Spartan-II Teams; Gray and Blue. Should they be encountered, inform them of mission and if possible may assist._

 _NOTE 2: Battle Group Epsilon will be awaiting signal to begin operations. Should the operation be compromised they will enter system for localized fire support until SPARTAN-II Team: Designation-RED completes mission._

The rest was about information on security forces and intricate detailing of the base itself. "If they knew all this why didn't they send Crimson Team for this?" Aaron muttered, his face contorted in concentration. If there was anything he learned in his decades if not centuries of both combat and intelligence operations. ONI, no matter how clean or kept in check, was not to be trusted. "There's something they're not telling us."

"Agreed. Why provide a Battle Group for a simple op as this?" Mack concurred. "This isn't adding up."

"Doesn't matter, no matter how sketchy this op may seem, we still have to carry it out." Stephanie innocently added. Well as innocent as a Spartan-II can get. Aaron reminded himself that she had been in mostly front-line engagements with a platoon of soldiers with her when there was an active threat. She had only recently been assigned to their team when they were transferred over to this new territory. Before, all the Spartans were lone wolfs for the most part with field commissions with the exception of Black Team, Gray Team and Blue Team and Red Team. When they were hastily moved to this new theatre of potential war, the Spartans were quickly merged into teams. Minus the three most experienced teams of Spartan-IIs, Mack and he were the next best intelligence operatives ONI had and ended up with her.

To put it simply, she was the hot-head of the group. Like a good soldier, she followed orders but still used her own intuition and superior augmentations to carry them out.

Aaron and Mack were more calculative than their more spear-headed friend and weary of just following orders without question, especially if they were from ONI. The Director himself gave them the mission and that alone stood the hairs on the back of Aaron's neck.

 **~(o_o)~**

"I don't like this. It's too quiet." Shepard muttered. She was currently with three other ODSTs, a few Geth and Miranda. Unlike the other missions, Miranda was finally in her armor rather than her skin-tight suit.

"You can say that again." The Cerberus operative responded as she walked passed another darkened hallway. The ODSTs took point while the two females were following close behind with the Geth troopers behind them.

After what seemed like forever, the lead ODST held a fist up. The universal signal for _'Hold up!'_ got Shepard's attention. He held a finger to his ear. _"Captain 104, this is Alpha Leader, we are at the VIP cyrobay."_ The ODST said over the open comm.

 _"Copy, Alpha Leader, proceed with caution."_

 _"Roger. Opening her up."_ He gestured with two fingers to one of the ODSTs who nodded and went to the controls. Shepard watched as the ODST worked on the controls.

"Bugger!" A distinct English accent sounded. "Controls are all mucked up." There was a pause as he tried again. The lights dimmed slightly, something that did not go amiss for the team.

 _"What do we have here?"_ A very, very bone-chilling female voice said. The already dimmed emergency lights flickered and suddenly Shepard felt like she was back on the Reaper derelict. _"I see the UNSC is ba-"_ The voice was promptly cut off.

 _"To all friendly forces this is Captain 104, overwhelming Flood presence is confirmed. Purge Protocol is now in effect. Alpha Team proceed with mission and secure VIPs. Everyone else, fallback to LZ. All remaining cyrobays have been compromised by Flood forms."_

"Go!" The team leader shouted the second the communication ended. "Maverick and Flashies, cover our rear while we get the VIPs secured!"

The second the thick bulkhead opened the leader, English Man, Miranda and Shepard rushed in, a thin layer of frost being crushed underneath their vacuum-sealed boots. "Octo start defrosting process with the S-IIs. I'll get the others. You two cover us." He barked out and placed his rifle in the magnetic holster that was located on his back.

It was a few seconds before the first of the tubes started hissing open. Shepard watched an armored hand gripped the sides and pull itself up from its icy tomb. Its armor was a gray steel color with small patches of green paint. The armor itself looked like it had seen better days. She recognized the helmet though. It was exactly like the one that _Master Chief_ wore or rather still wears.

"Serria-092, sorry this couldn't be a bit more formal," The ODST quickly said. "But your ship is being attacked by the Flood and we have to leave right now." He handed him what looked to be a shotgun. "The _M50 Tactical Shotgun,_ pump-action, magazine of eight rounds. Customized with red dot and flashlight. Here's the ammo." He tossed the towering soldier several bundles of large rounds, who caught it with ease. The Spartan spared a glance to her direction before going over his weapon.

The procedure was repeated with two other hulking soldiers who received an assault rifle and a pair of submachine guns, leaving the ODST with just a very durable looking pistol. She turned her attention towards the other group who were having a bad-time recovering from waking up. An older looking man and a younger looking woman of Asian descent. They coughed violently before regaining their composure.

"Captain Cutter. Sorry for the rush but we have to leave now." The ODST quickly said. "Flood forms have overrun the ship and are headed this way."

"Son, do you at least have-" He coughed once again." have a weapon I can use?" The trooper nodded and handed him his pistol.

"Works just like the magnum of old." The trooper said. Suddenly, gunshots and plasma being fired was heard. _"Sergeant Payne! They're here!"_

"Alright people let's move!" There was a blood-curdling scream over the comm and then static. They moved to the bulkhead, all with weapons at the ready. What Shepard saw next made her miss the husks and Collectors she originally fought.

 **Not much to say. BUUUT T the CLIFFY is real!**

 **Shoutout to hunter 139 for being the Beta!**

 **Review and PM! They keep me motivated to speed things up!**

 **Until Next Time!**


	12. XII

_**Sorry for the wait! Been polishing this up whenever I could and finally ended up with this.**_

 _ **Finally hit 1k! Thanks to all of you!**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

(-⌄-)

"Sir, we are nearing exit. Permission to enact defensive protocols Alpha-Three -Niner." An officer at a command console asked aloud. His eyes never leaving the screen that had a multitude of data streaming across.

"Permission granted. All ships I want us as tight as possible. This will be a textbook exit." The Admiral said to him.

"Copy that. Relaying orders." The officer responded.

Nothing could prepare the Admiral for what happened next.

(-⌄-)

When former Commander Jane Shepard of the Systems Alliance Navy first saw the husks that the Geth made on Eden Prime, she thought she had seen it all. From space hamsters to the fictional zombie in the form of the human husk, she thought that there would be nothing that could compare to those experiences.

Oh how wrong she was.

When they got to the bulkhead, what Shepard saw would be remembered throughout the rest of her life.

Maverick, the ODST that had been assigned to defend the door, had a sickly green _thing_ attacking him. The soldier tried in vain to beat the thing back but to no avail. The thing _burrowed_ its tentacles into the soldier who, in response, began to violently convulse. Instantaneously, green mutations started to sprout from his body and a large tentacle replacing his arm. The Geth troopers fared better and actually destroyed a couple before being overwhelmed. All of this happened in a couple of seconds.

"Light 'em up!" The sergeant shouted as he brought his rifle to bear.

Shepard, due to her superior augmented body and cybernetic implants was the first to shoot. Her assault rifle shot up and she squeezed the trigger, feeling the slight vibration that the rounds made as they left the barrel. Said rounds scored a headshot. What happened was not what she expected. Instead of the head exploding into pulping mass, which it still did, the rest of the body kept running full throttle at them, completely neglecting the fact that it lost its head.

Before it could make any more ground however, the corridor lit up as cobalt beams struck the green forms, incinerating and disintegrating them. The bulkhead that was at the other end now bore scorch marks from the firefight.

"Shoot center mass! Headshots aren't worth a damn now!" Octo yelled as he inserted a fresh clip into his pistol and shot an infection form with deadly accuracy, blowing the massive bulb to bits.

"Octo cover our rear! Spartans clear a hole!" The sergeant barked out. "You two keep up or we are leaving you behind." He moved with haste as the Spartans in the worn -out armor bounded forwards and began to quickly yet methodically push forward.

Shepard and Miranda kept behind the two they were to protect while the Sergeant stayed behind the Spartans cleaning up anything they missed. It had been relatively quiet up to that point when Octo shouted. "Contact Rear!" The two women instinctually turned on their heels and brought their rifles to bear and started sending thermal rounds down range.

"Go!" Octo shouted as he reloaded. Several human-looking zombies were climbing over each other to get to them. When Shepard didn't move he roughly shoved her down the corridor where she then began running. Several Geth troopers ran past her went out into the fray to cover the ODST.

They all began to run, including the Spartans. Self-preservation triumphed over bravery. Shepard and two other troopers skidded to a stop the closing bulkhead and trying to shoot past them to slow down the mass of green rapidly approaching them.

A geth ended up being too slow and got trampled by the mass of Flood infection and Combat forms, its platform being lost in the tide. "Damn it!" The running ODST shouted. Another Geth went down behind him. Shepard switched to her pistol and began taking potshots at the oncoming horde even though it looked like it wasn't doing anything but annoying the organisms. She wanted so bad to throw a Singularity but the corridor was too small and she would most likely catch Octo in it as well.

The door was close to closing and Octo was too far to get there in time but he still tried. A pair of Geth ran in, one scraping the top of its flashlight-like head against the top of the shutting bulkhead. "Octo run!" A female voice shouted from behind her. The two troopers next to her readied their weapons, while two Spartans quickly joined them with their weapons aimed down ranged taking careful potshots past the ODST.

"I'm not going to make it!" He yelled back. He had discarded his pistol and helmet in an attempt to lose some weight. He was so close yet the door was about to shut.

He slipped in at a price.

From his right knee downward the massive door crushed and severed the leg resulting in him losing his left leg. He screamed in agony as two ODSTs grabbed the straps to his pack and pulled him away from the door, and who were also yelling for a medic.

Shepard could hear the organisms on the other side banging on the shut doors desperately trying to get in.

She remembered that she still had her own people on board.

"Miranda, check on the team." She said to her acquaintance as she turned to her.

Just the look on the Cerberus' operatives eyes made Shepard think twice about this new foe they were facing. The normal cold and calculative look on the woman was replaced with a look of fear. When she looked to the Commander however, her normal features returned, determined to not let Shepard see her in a different light.

"Aye, Commander."

She turned to see the Spartans conversing with one another. One of them turned to her and gestured for her to come over, which she promptly did. "Commander Shepard." The green one that was known as Master Chief greeted her with a nod of his head as well. His armor while its main color was a forest green was edged in a blue pulsating line. The seven Spartans were gathered around the holo pedestal where the AI known as Cortana was located.

"Time to bring you up to speed." The vibrant blue hologram said. With a wave of her hand she brought up the ship. "Blue Team was sent to recover an AI, but as you may have heard she is not happy with us."

"That female voice that we heard in the cryobay?" Shepard questioned.

"Serina." Cortana answered. "Yeah, that's her. To narrow it down when Blue Team reached the control room and went to unplug her, so to speak, from the system, she turned on us."

"Turned implies that she was helping." Shepard said.

"Rampant AIs are unpredictable and dangerous. She lured us in with a false sense of hope, letting the teams get spread out as we scoured the ship and then when we entered the bridge she sprung the trap."

"The Flood." Fred explained. "She kept them, herded them to the cryobays where they could consume the ship's crew, to use as her own personal army."

"You say, the Flood, like it explains everything." Jane retorted.

"The Flood consumes everything and I mean everything. The UNSC and Coalition have a protocol for dealing with Flood infestations. The Purge Protocol by us and the Purifying Order by the Coalition." Cortana elaborated. "They are the same thing. Contain the Flood for as long as possible and _try_ to destroy all of the Flood's presence."

"And if containment fails?"

"We resort to NOVAs." She said simply. "Or as the boys in uniform call them, Planet-Crackers."

"You destroy the entire world?" Shepard eyes widened. "Why?"

"You have to understand that desperate times call for desperate measures. A single Flood spore can decimate an entire planet. When we have confirmed Flood presence we quarantine the entire system. When the Flood is present, casualties are not theoretical. They are _expected._ " Linda said to the Commander with a hint of disdain in her voice. It was noticed by all the other Spartans but to Shepard it sounded like she was just speaking to her normally. "Sure, you try to minimize them but in the end it comes down to should we risk more lives to take a planet or just _nuke_ the damn rock." It was also rare when Spartans curse because of military formality and doctrine ingrained into them since they were kids. So when one did curse it was a serious matter.

"As she said, casualties _are_ expected with every Flood encounter. This operation was no different unfortunately. All of Charlie Team killed when they were surrounded and overwhelmed at a junction but your people that went with them were able to make their way here." The AI told her. Shepard internally sighed in relief. "Your team. One severely wounded, another dead with five Geth destroyed. Everyone else made it back." Shepard felt relieved after hearing that.

"What about the AI?" Shepard asked changing the subject. She wanted to get off of this god-infested ship.

"I was getting to that. We couldn't get to her. She had a couple of the tank combat forms waiting for us. Blue Team fell back here. Right now she is trying to get access to the door controls so that way she can get to us but I am fighting her off as we speak but even that is easier said than done."

"What do-" She was suddenly cut off as the entire ship shuddered underneath them.

" _UNSC Omnipotent to ground team, hostile unknown forces have entered the system! Three destroyer analogues disabled the Normandy and are engaging us."_

"What's your status?" Chief quickly asked. At the mention, of the _Normandy_ being boarded Shepard straightened up.

 _"We took a glancing hit. No casualties but multiple injuries. They fired on the Spirit but aren't doing anything about it. They are focusing their efforts on the Normandy."_

"Where's our reinforcements?" Kelly asked. They should've been here by now.

 _"Our last communication was Battle Group Alpha and a couple CCS-Battlecruisers being diverted here to deal with the Flood. They should be here any minute."_

"Chief! Serina's cutting me off from the ship! I won't be able to control the doors much longer."

"ODSTs get to defensive positions!" Get the wounded to the back and set up some firing lines!" Fred quickly barked out. "Legion get your troopers, defensive positions and set up fields of fire, switch off!"

"Sir," Lieutenant Abramov that was part of the detachment of ODSTs aboard the _Omnipotent_ and its security head shouted. "Something's playing hell with our motion trackers." For the Spartans it seemed weird as well. The massive blob of red that was on the other side of the tough bulkheads was pulling back far from the doors.

"Doesn't matter, prepare for the worst as soon as those doors open, toss grenades and rain hell." Fred barked. He received a chorus of _Aye's._

"They're right." Cortana stated as soon as they left. "Something's not right here."

"What do you mean?" Shepard asked.

"The Flood for the most part has a single objective. Obtain any biomass sufficient for the creation of a Gravemind, then, to put it simply, shit starts to get real." The AI responded. "This is done at any- I'm picking up chatter on the battle net!"

 _"Battle Group Alpha reporting in! Launch all fighters and protect the Spirit!"_ A male voice shouted out. _"Containment Teams, move in! UNSC Omnipotent you are cleared for extraction the teams and get them aboard the Fairweather for decontamination."_

"Looks like extraction is here. I'm getting a message from the captain asking if we should send teams to clear the _Normandy."_ Cortana said and looked to Shepard who nodded.

"Alcatraz is cleared to eliminate any hostiles on the _Normandy."_ Cortana quickly responded as soon as she received the go ahead from Shepard.

The red-head would've preferred to keep the UNSC, a relative reclusive faction, and their highly-trained soldiers away from her ship. She had no choice however, as the Collectors made their first and last move against Spectre Jane Shepard. For now they had to leave this cursed ship and it seemed like this...Flood...was about to play its first move.

"Bulkheads breached!"

(-⌄-)

 _"This Flood...Ha. Where do I begin? The Forerunner Archives that have been recovered are particularly slim on the details pertaining to this organism, other than it being a bio-engineered infection form. Evidence supports this. It seems to be a fully sapient collective of organisms operating as a hive mind with the need to collect enough biomass to support another organism that ONI and Sangheili Intelligence refers to as the Gravemind. From accounts on field operatives from those that encountered this organism, the Gravemind seems to provide leadership to the Flood._

 _-Doctor Catherine Halsey on her report of the Flood_

 _ **Just one thing to say: Sorry for the wait been extremely busy for the past couple weeks or rather months. I'll try to avoid situations that are similar to this. Also, sorry for the short chapter. Things will ramp up from here.**_

 _ **Shoutout to hunter 139 for being the beta!**_

 _ **Review and PM!**_

 _ **Until Next Time!**_


	13. XIII

_**Enjoy!**_

There isn't much that could be described in words about what happened next for Shepard.

For the next ten minutes, though they seemed more like hours to her, there was nothing but chaos. Explosions rocked the _Spirit of Fire_ while gunfire from both her team and the UNSC poured into the hallway where many Flood forms either surged forward or collapsed and disintegrated.

It was all a blur to her but she and everyone else slowly began to back up while keeping a steady rate of fire down the hallway. With her back to the airlock, one of the Spartans she rescued punched the controls.

They fit as many as they could into the airlock before it was closed. About half of the ODSTs, the remaining Geth platforms and all the Spartans stayed outside to fight while Shepard and her crew caught their breath. The airlock rumbled as a ship connected to it.

In a few seconds the airlock opened behind them and revealed a squad of fresh soldiers, not ODSTs but regular marines who had their weapons trained on them. They quickly barked at them to move which they promptly did.

Jane Shepard just wanted some rest. From this. From all of it.

 **( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)**

Admiral Keith had sincerely hoped it would not come down to this. He had hoped for the Batarians to see reason.

For all their cunning and hypocrisy and sadly arrogance, they just had to attack. According to the Batarian Hegemony, it wasn't them but the act of slavers and pirates. But, even the Council knew that armadas of pirates don't head straight for an entity that was forcing them to change their barbaric laws. The armada would've preyed on weaker colonies and none that had an active and combat-ready fleet protecting them.

Now, however, Keith only felt pity and no guilt as he looked over the barren and burning fields that was once a bustling agricultural center and turned to the wasteland of the grand city that was once the capital of Panora. He felt pity for those that were acting under orders but no guilt as he knew they could very well fight back.

Underneath his dirt trodden combat boots, he crouched low and picked up a silver medallion that was in the hands of a fallen UNSC marine that was covered by a aluminum blanket and opened the locket that it had. It was a picture of a young boy on one side and a beautiful woman on another. He sighed and put the locket back in the hand of marine and closed the hand into a fist.

He looked to his left and right at the UNSC marines and soldiers stand around solemnly as they gazed at their fallen comrades. A young marine broke down and fell to his knees and tore off his helmet and wept into his hands as it became too much. A nearby army soldier placed a comforting hand on the weeping marine's soldier.

 _All of this._ Admiral Keith thought to himself as he gazed upon the war-torn battlefield of Panora. _And for what? So they could send a message to us saying they will continue to rule as masters and treat others as scum._

Whatever was left of the civilian populace was either dead or evacuated off-world. The wounded had been shipped off to the nearest medical center.

Panora had become a military stronghold and will be for the foreseeable future. Keith, since he was the highest ranking officer there because the General had been killed in the attack, had ordered dozens of fortifications to be built. He deployed the almost the entirety of the 21st Fleet's ground components and it had barely been enough, had the Coalition not been there, Keith knew that that the planet would be in Batarian hands.

He made his way to an awaiting pelican dropship where a pair of ODSTs stood guard. They followed him into it and the pelican took off towards the awaiting _Titan-Class_ warship that was in geosynchronous orbit.

The ride to his flagship was taken in silence. According to Commander Traeger, the rumor mill of the ship was that an ONI ship supplied them with another NOVA just in case and sadly they weren't far off from the truth.

Only Keith, Heather, Traeger and the ONI Spartan-IV team guarding it, knew of the actual contents of the package. An experimental NOVA warhead designed to break apart and produce several smaller NOVA warheads, each with their own NAV equipment to hit a different target.

It was Keith's job to deliver the warhead to a key system that was acting as a staging ground for the pirates and slavers that still continue to harass the Coalition/UNSC post of the other side of Panora Relay.

Keith shook his head. The experimental warhead was to split into twenty different, smaller warheads and destroy every single celestial body that was in the system excluding the sun. The initial estimation put the enemy casualty count in the thousands but with the recent influx of pirates also wanting to get a piece of UNSC or Coalition tech estimates were set to hundreds of thousands to even the low million.

Already, Keith had his orders to do so. Now all he had to do was carry them out.

They landed in the private hanger, where Traeger stood in his armor and helmet underneath his arm while Heather awaited in her hologram form at his side. The ODSTs took their leave and until Keith was sure they were out of earshot did he begin to speak.

"Get the ship underway. We need to be quick about this."

 **( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)**

The second the _ONI prowler_ entered the system a single warhead jettisoned out of the missile delivery system. It also dropped a probe to track and record the missile.

Not wanting to see what happened the captain ordered an emergency slipspace procedure and left the system as quick as they entered it.

That single missile, out of range of any sensors, split into twenty smaller warheads each one going to either a planet or moon.

For the next minute and half, nothing happened as each warhead traveled to its intended destination. All with a protective coating that could only be noticed by the most advanced sensors that only the UNSC had. They all bypassed every single ship it flew by and soon entered the atmosphere.

Almost simultaneously, twenty celestial objects became suns as every single one was burned to a crisp. Moons blew apart. Oceans evaporated and every single soul in the system was purged. All in a matter of ten seconds the system that housed 1.2 million pirates of every Council race, their families, loved ones and friends became a graveyard.

 _ **Sorry for the wait! No excuses and sorry for the short chapter as I did say that things would pick up but I am laying the groundwork for more things to come. Lots of planning is currently in the works for this story.**_

 _ **Review (I want to know your thoughts and I will try to respond to as many as I can) PM me any questions you may have!**_

 _ **Shout out to hunter 139 for being the Beta!**_

 _ **Until Next Time!**_


	14. XIV

_**Enjoy!**_

The Councilors, all viewed the video that was captured at the pirate staging system. The massive movement of the bandits had put the Turian Hierarchy and the Systems Alliance in high alert while the STG had already begun tracking the movements.

They all knew that the Batarians attacked the UNSC and their allies at Panora and how much the damage the armada incurred. Granted, the two biggest ships in the system, the ones referred to as _colossal-dreadnaughts_ had received minor damages to their hulls while most of the others were heavily damaged.

The STG even managed to sneak a few probes to the other side of the relay to follow how the battle progressed on the ground and to say that the UNSC and Coalition were experts at war would be like saying the Salarians were shit at espionage. They were masters. The Councilors also witnessed the act of Glassing as they watched several Coalition warships enter geosynchronous orbit above massive concentrations of Batarian pirates and slavers and fire their energy lances literally burning them to glass.

Thousands fought and died in the defense of the planet and after a week of intense combat, both in space and on the ground, the Batarian pirates were evicted with brutality only comparable to the Rachni War. The UNSC and Coalition followed the limping pirates and destroyed, with unwavering ferocity, as many as they could before they could escape.

The aftermath of the battle was a sight most of the Councilors would not forget. Satellite images showed many of the cities destroyed and countless bodies littering the streets and fields and trenches. Space debris nearly blocked the images as wrecked hulls and spent munitions clouded views. A day after the battle dozens more warships showed up over a four hundred in total both Coalition and UNSC reinforcements had arrived.

But that was not what had the Councilors worried. No, what occurred at the dubbed, _Omega System_ coined after the station and its lawlessness, is what had the Councilors in sweat.

They watched as a small ship of a UNSC scout ship that they had only seen once before, fire a single missile in the direction of the largest concentration of pirates and drop a probe before it left the system as quickly as it came.

For the next minute and forty seconds, the Councilors intently watched the missile split into twenty smaller warheads, each one heading to a different destination. And, almost simultaneously, twenty new suns erupted onto the screen. Every single planet and moon in the system had been alit in a grand flame, a few even blew apart and a planet exploded from the intense pressure.

Tevos gasped and covered her mouth in horror.

Valern, watched with an unnerving emotionless expression.

Sparatus stood silent and stoic, with internal grim satisfaction but with equal disgust and fear.

Udina was the most fearful of all and it was highly noticeable to anyone that watched the Councilors.

The display turned off just as the image fizzled out due to the probe being destroyed by the millions if not billions of space debris hurtling about.

"How? Just how?" Udina voiced. His mind just went blank on the possibilities that could come from this.

"Complicates things. But understandable." The Salarian Councilor voiced, his former career having the motors turning in his head already and at the questionable looks from the others he continued. "UNSC and Coalition, no other option. They can't go on the offensive even with the new reinforcements so they drew upon alternatives. However, barbaric and somewhat frightening, UNSC delivered a blow that will completely hamper the Batarians from future incursions into UNSC space."

Sparatus nodded his agreement, his more tactical points making their way into the conversation. "It bought them time to regroup and prepare for an offensive that will most likely end up with the destruction of the Batarians if they don't sue for peace."

The ramifications of a Batarian defeat quickly entered Tevos' mind. "The UNSC and Coalition would gain their territory and most likely put an end to the scheming and belligerent Terminus Systems."

"And it seems that they are not above destroying entire worlds to ensure they win." Udina interjected, both the system being blown to smithereens and the Coalition glassing to be rid of enemy armies, fresh in his thoughts.

To Sparatus, this entire situation was very conflicting. On one side, his more militaristic side, applauded the UNSC and Coalition on their part for stopping an invasion that would've put the Hierarchy into strain and used a means to stop any more and giving them and others second thoughts about messing with these new powerhouses.

On the other, however, was disgusted and fearful of just the implications this meant, if they were willing to completely obliterate an entire star system because of a major pirate attack on a colony then what if they fell into a total war scenario? A scenario where his species, for example, usually applied the philosophy of "The ends justifies the means".

There was a small pause before Tevos spoke again. "However, we may be dealing with future enemies, the UNSC and Coalition ambassadors arriving will probably clarify on the situation."

The Salarian councilor spoke this time. "Coalition has elected not to join us today. They seem to be following the lead of the UNSC with this conflict and likely may not want to ever engage in negotiations with us again. Our past history with our inaction against the Batarians seems to have edged them away."

Tevos visibly deflated, clearly disappointed by the news and sadly, she knew it was probably a correct one too. This moved her thoughts to the political fallout from this as well. "When the public hears this there will be outrage and the UNSC and Coalition will get more support in their campaign against the Batarians."

The other councilors knew that this would probably affect Tevos more than it did the others. For one, since the position of Councilor was a lifetime post and Asari having the longest life spans compared to the others, she had been at the forefront of seeking peace with the Batarians and always against any sort of campaign on the Terminus systems. And while Sparatus had constantly argued that point in the end it was three against one as even Udina always elected to leave the Terminus systems the way it is, even though the Systems Alliance had quite a few independent colonies out there and close while still the Traverse.

Sparatus was about to comment before he was interrupted by an Asari aide coming in from the front and informing the Councilors that the UNSC ambassador had arrived, this time in a super-dreadnought of sort but still made the _Destiny Ascension_ look like a frigate maybe a cruiser if they were hopeful, if a bit prideful.

"I hope we can talk them out of declaring war." Tevos stated simply as the display turned on to show three UNSC dropships headed their way. "At the very least, maybe delay it so we can secure our borders just in case the Batarians try something."

Sparatus deemed Tevos a little bit too hopeful.

After a few minutes of silence, the opulent stairs were ascended by the UNSC ambassador and two unarmed ODSTs that from the satellite seemed to be orbit deployed from pods and heavily armed to boot. Shock troopers like these must've have had a mental regimen that was probably on par to their physical one. Something that was not possible with Element Zero. Something that Sparatus was deeply jealous about.

"Greetings, Councilors. I am Ambassador Lorain." A woman that looked to be in her mid-thirties with a pristine white navy uniform that had a number of ribbons decorating it but no medals. She had brown hair and cerulean eyes and a fit figure. "I am sorry to say that this meeting is under these circumstances and not under the light of recent events." She elected to stay standing; apparently she figured that this meeting wouldn't take too much time.

Tevos, as was always and her nature, took the lead. Something that the ambassador expected too as her eyes trained on the Asari as she finished her sentence. "We regret that indeed and offer our condolences to those that were in the defense of your colony." She paused and then continued. "However, we witnessed an event that has left us concerned as to the direction this war may take, assuming there are still plans about declaring it that is?"

"My superiors are still in debate, however, would you enlighten me as to what these events are?" She of course had been briefed by ONI on what occurred in the newly dubbed, _System of the Damned._

The Salarian brought up the display and Lorain ordered the ODSTs to essentially not see what was about to happen, it was still classified but if the Council decided to go public with this, then there really was nothing she could do about it.

The display played what happened, and again she already knew this, expected it really or rather ONI expected it, it seemed that even in a different galaxy they had ears everywhere.

When it finished she called out to the guards that they could remove their blocks she had placed on them. "What is there to discuss about it? It happened and more than likely can happen again." She honestly and definitely wasn't cleared for that particular piece of info. "Ending on that, we are prepared to go to war and I am here to let you know of the conditions of it pertaining to you."

The Councilors gestured for her to continue all of them with a hitch in their breaths. Was the UNSC and Coalition moving against them?

"As the deadline nears to a close for the ultimatum presented to the Batarian Hegemony, the UNSC and Coalition felt inclined to let you know that any attempt to aid the Hegemony in a monetary, militant or civilian instance we will label the Council as a hostile entity and war will also be waged. " She quickly continued not letting them say anything in a rebuttal. "Any and all slaves will be freed and transported to a designated Council world. We will not be protecting them after that; it will be left to you. We will not be taking any slaves under our care should they want to leave the Council. I must stress that we will _not_ be taking in any of your freed peoples.

We are not responsible for any immigrants that may leave the Terminus Systems as they will be considered as a fleeing force and will not be pursued unless absolutely necessary. Any and all pirates or those that participate in illegal activities such as firing upon soldiers of both the UNSC and Coalition or looting, regardless of race, that surrender to us, should the UNSC and Coalition carry out its campaign, will be treated as a pirate and shot on sight.

Any willing civilians that are found in a crossfire will be escorted to a designated Council world to be free from the war. However the UNSC and Coalition will not be responsible for any damages that may occur." She paused and let out an internal sigh. "Are there any questions regarding these points made?"

Of course there were questions.

The Council already decided that they would not support the Hegemony in any way, shape or form.

However, an influx of a massive former slave population would put a, albeit small, strain on the economy. That was not a concern at all however and the Council would greet the former slaves with open arms.

The problem was their form of justice that seemed rather barbaric. "Shot on sight?" Sparatus asked.

"I can guarantee that the UNSC will be giving no quarter to anyone in this campaign, the mission is to clean up a mess that has been festering for far too long. We will not condone it any longer. The Coalition even more so."

"The Systems Alliance has several independent colonies and few that are linked to us out in the Terminus Systems. What of them?" Udina questioned.

"Like stated before, any civilian that is willing to leave their home will be escorted by us from the battleground, those that stay will be expected to stay out of the way. If they are found looting, our soldiers will have orders to shoot on sight." Ever since the Insurrection, there became a zero tolerance on illegal activity during wartime or a natural disaster.

"What about use of WMDs on garden worlds?" Sparatus asked once again. "Or even orbital bombardment?"

"If it is necessary to use a WMD or orbital bombardment, then so be it. I am not the one that will be the one issuing those orders, I will simply be carrying them out."

"Will there be any motive to settle on any worlds that the UNSC or Coalition liberate or capture?" Valern questioned. "Will the Batarians be evicted from their homeworld?"

"Again, Councilor, I am only an ambassador. If there is any talk of colonizing captured worlds then I am not hearing any of it." She responded.

Silence hung in the air for a few moments after that statement. Lorain waited for any more questions but none came. She half expected the Asari to ask them to call a quits on the war discussions but she remained silent.

"If there are no further questions..."Tevos began. "Then the meeting is adjourned. Thank you for meeting with us, Ambassador Lorain."

"The pleasure is mine." She responded with a smile as she left.

These next couple of months was going to be insane that's for sure.

 _ **Shout out to hunter 139 for being the Beta!**_

 _ **Loving the response I am getting to this especially the PMs I am getting with awesome questions! Mostly, just to clarify some aspects.**_

 _ **Again, laying the groundwork for the future...**_

 _ **If you are looking for a different ME/Halo crossover, I recommend my latest work Against the Odds, new concept and a different style.**_

 _ **Until Next Time!**_


	15. XV

_**Enjoy!**_

-()-

 _Current Dreadnaughts built:  
Asari: 15 (3 under construction)  
Salarian: 30 (2 under construction)  
Turian: 48 (5 under construction)  
SA Human: 20 (1 under construction)_

 _-Analytical Report from Operation: Windtalker_

-()-

It was time. Finally, after long months of preparation, it was finally time. Everyone was with her, minus Liara. Jane had insisted that she remain safe and continue her position as Shadow Broker. Her help and position when the Reapers come would be invaluable.

"ETA, one hour Shepard." Joker said over the comm. "Timmy wants to talk to you."

Jane smiled at the nickname. Her team had been all too willing to call the Cerberus leader that behind his back.

"Heading to the QEC right now." She was currently in her Terminus armor. She didn't wear her N7 armor since it brought to many memories and still had the grotesque slime from the Flood encounter. She wanted to be rid of that particular memory forever.

 _That ODST was right. I didn't want to know._ Shepard thought grimly. She didn't like to be kept in the dark and so she now paid the consequences for being curious. She was lucky that her entire team had survived.

The UNSC weren't so lucky.

The Spartans lived. That much was clear but in the chaotic time that she was trying to assist the containment teams, she lost track of how much UNSC personnel and geth were actually lost to the parasite.

She shook herself from her thoughts. Compared to the Flood, the Collectors would be considered a pushover by UNSC standards, she assumed. But by her standards, she would be going through the gates of Hell.

She actually liked the armor she currently wore. It was second to her N7 armor and was the only thing that seemed to be the only worthwhile item that the Batarians had managed to produce. She didn't buy it, she would rather shoot herself then support the slavers but Cerberus had apparently gotten their hands on a suit and Timmy, ever so graciously, modified so she could use it. She had to admit, Timmy has good taste when it comes to intimidating paint jobs.

She arrived at the communication room, took off her helmet and tucked it under her arm.

Jane activated the comm. The one and only thing she liked about Timmy was that he was straight to the point.

"Shepard." He greeted with a cigarette in between his fingers. "I wish I had more information for you. I don't like you heading through that relay blind. But you don't have much choice."

 _Because your tip concerning the derelict Reaper was not a trap in any way._ She thought to herself. "I'm not going alone. I got some of the best working with me. If we stick together, we'll make it." _Just like countless times before._

The Cerberus leader continued. "I knew we brought you back for a reason. I've never seen a better leader, despite the danger it's a great opportunity. The first human to take a ship through and survive."

"I'm going to stop the Collectors. To stop their attacks on humanity." She responded to the man that was listing achievements they would be getting rather than providing advice. _We could also be the first humans to die on the other side._ She didn't voice this though.

"I just wanted you to know that I appreciate the risk you're taking. Regardless of your opinion of Cerberus, of me, you are a valuable asset to all of Humanity. Be careful, Shepard." He sounded as close to sincere as Shepard had ever heard Timmy get. _That's a first._ "I'll be monitoring your progress." And with that he closed the comm channel.

"Joker, patch me through to the UNSC."

 _"Aye, aye."_ Was his simple response.

In a few moments, a voice came through. She recognized it as belonging to Lieutenant Commander Glasser, due to his thick Russian accent. _"This is Lieutenant Commander Glasser speaking."_

Jane hated playing diplomat. "Spectre Jane Shepard here. I was wondering if you would still be joining us in the attack on the Collectors."

There was a distinct pause. _Maybe they are tired from the Flood._ As soon as this thought went through her mind, it was quickly discarded as the Lieutenant Commander responded. _"We will be joining you and will be bringing extra firepower with us. If that is alright?"_ What Shepard heard, though, was, _"We are coming with a bigger gun and there is nothing you can do about it."_

"The more the merrier." She answered. She honestly didn't know what would happen to them since they didn't have the Reaper IFF but with them bringing reinforcements, she felt elation as she realized she wouldn't be doing this with just a ragtag group of mercenaries and friends.

She would be assisted by military professionalism that she sorely missed even though she wouldn't trade her current standing team for anything in the galaxy.

"That's all, we will be moving within the hour." And with that Shepard ended the transmission and slipped her helmet on. _Time to go to work._

-()-

 _"There have been rumors of the First Fleet encountering a massive Covenant Remnant Fleet. So far, all fleets have been placed in high alert with mandatory evacuation drills being enforced throughout the colonies. It's the best we can do until the rumors are confirmed or the First Fleet returns from its expedition. They are not equipped for long-term deployment or any sort of serious combat operation besides the minor pirate raid so they should be back soon. Either shattered or victorious."_

-General Joseph Hamerson, Director of ONI to UNSC High Command and Security Council.

-()-

 _ **And there you have it!**_

 _ **So sorry for the extremely short chapter! I am currently extremely busy in real life and I promise that chapters will get longer!**_

 _ **Next up: Suicide Mission!**_

 _ **Shout out to hunter 139 for being the Beta!**_

 _ **Questions? Comments? Concerns? Drop a review and I'll respond asap!**_

 _ **Until Next Time!**_


	16. XVI

_**Enjoy!**_

 _-()-_

The _Megalodon-Class_ Heavy Battlecruiser, _Alcatraz,_ floated in the abyss that was the void. On either side of it were similarly sized CCS-Battlecruisers, if only slightly shorter but still packing quite a bit of punch if not more than their heavier comrade, combined. Surrounding the ships were a myriad of both Coalition and UNSC frigates.

Inside the docking bay the _Normandy_ lay with all her crew.

Spectre Jane Shepard had been requested to meet with the Captains of the ships before they went through the Omega-4 Relay.

She would trust them enough that she could make her way to the bridge under escort of the Spartan-117 and not have her teammates with her. She figured if they cleared her ship of the Collectors saving a number of the crew as well as saving her life aboard _The Spirit of Fire._ Then some trust wouldn't hurt.

That wasn't to say that she wasn't armed. Quite the contrary.

So she followed the green armored soldier through the corridors of the ship. The matte grey walls as well as the running lights weren't new to her but it was still fascinating to see the inside of a UNSC ship. It wasn't a maze like most military ground installations were but if she wasn't following the Spartan then she would've gotten lost.

They reached the bridge doors which was guarded by a pair that she recognized as ODSTs, Jane made the connection that they were probably System's Alliance equivalent to N7s.

The Spartan made no indication that he saw them other than a subtle nod to them and they walked through.

The bridge was all kinds of spacious but it also was very compact and practical. The first time she hadn't got to admire the intricacies before since she was being questioned by a rather calculative but efficient Captain.

Now that she had the time, she took in the sight with slight awe as well as jealousy. The ship was very advanced and would put even _Destiny Ascension_ to shame and it was just a battlecruiser. Jane was regretting not taking in more of the sight when she was in the bridge of an even bigger capital ship.

The views in the reinforced windows further accentuated the beauty of this massive ship. The matte grey of the outside deck was dotted with both point defense turrets while the sleek hull of the dreadnought was illuminated with lights as well as other reinforced windows. Every now and then a group of fighters would soar by into the view.

However, what drew her attention were the two people or rather aliens before her who were conversing with the captain about something. With her cybernetic enhanced eyesight she could see that the Lieutenant Commander of Russian descent was also present but he looked rather bored as he sifted through information on a small data pad.

But her attention was quickly taken by the alien beings that easily towered over the Spartan in front of her who just so happened to also be taller than Krogan.

The alien had mandible-like appendages and, what was not covered by silver armor that was edged in a brighter white color, leathery black skin. The other alien was covered in gold armor that had a bright golden trim.

"Ah so the _Demon_ arrives!" The silver armored alien exclaimed as he brought a fist to his chest. The Spartan slightly nodded his respect to him. Demon? Why was the Spartan called that?

The Spartan stopped short of the Captain of the UNSC ship and saluted to which he returned. The UNSC captain turned to Jane. "Captain Joseph Euted of the USNC _Alcatraz._ Pleasure to make your acquaintance. Allow me to introduce Shipmaster Rteze' Vadum and Shipmaster Cyta' Teham."

She nodded and introduced herself. "I am here because you requested my presence?"

"Yes. We are here to discuss strategy before we go through this relay." The UNSC captain stated. "Cortana would you be a dear and display what initial probe scans have gotten a hold of." What? Call an AI _dear?_ She asked something more relevant to the situation though.

"Probe scans? You sent probes through the relay?" Shepard questioned. EDI would've notified her if the Relay was being used.

"Not necessarily. We..." He looked past her to where the Lieutenant Commander was idly watching, she could only imagine the pointed look he sent to the Captain. "I can't give you the full details due to security reasons," A polite way of saying classified, of course. "But we sent them and that's all that counts." The lights began to dim as the holo-map lit up.

Jane seemed to notice how unprofessional his demeanor was. If anything his attitude about going into the unknown was _eccentric_ for lack of a better term. All the UNSC personnel she encountered so far had a cold and calculative vibe about them with a hint of _dangerousness_. To find one such as Captain Euted was uncomfortable to say the least.

To her credit though the only UNSC personnel she interacted with were either, high ranking officers, Tier One operatives or intelligence officers. So it was understandable that she got the impression that all UNSC military officers behaved with a sense of professionalism.

Thus her current confusion on how this man got the posting of captain of a dreadnought that probably had enough firepower to level a planet.

But the naval officer continued. "As you can see, there is a massive debris field as soon as you exit. They are only partial scans but they give us a rough estimate on what to expect."

He seemed giddy at the prospect of a challenge. The Shipmasters were mildly amused at the antics of the USNC captain. "There are at least five Collector heavy destroyers in the loading bays of the base. Shouldn't be much of a problem. But there's also the fact that the base itself has defenses, still shouldn't be much of a deterrence." He wasn't sounding arrogant in this remark, only confident.

"Shouldn't?" Jane prodded. How did they have this much information just from simple probe scans?

"Their weapons pack quite a punch and we'll be limited to our bombers, PDs, and missiles to dish out damage. Energy projectors to an extent but MACs are out of the question otherwise we risk destroying the base and any civilians aboard." He gestured to the shipmasters. "They have their torpedoes but that's cheating so..."

"Our objective is to find out what they are doing and to _destroy_ the base..." She said a little harsher than she intended. "Any civilians that are there are more than likely dead already."

He opened his mouth to answer her when the Lieutenant Commander, that had been silent until now, interrupted, "My superiors have interest in this base and want it to remain intact. UNSC ground forces and," He looked to the Shipmasters. "they, I am assuming, will aid in taking over the base. Battle Group Alpha should be more than enough to take this base."

The shipmasters tightly shut their mandibles. "Fleetmaster Akita won't like this." 'Teham stated with displeasure.

"Neither will the Arbiter or the Senate." 'Vadum also said with displeasure. "Your Office of Naval Intelligence is not welcomed in the Coalition and if we can help it, our warriors will not be involved in their schemes. We will, however, assist with fleet actions."

"Fair enough." He said with equal distrust.

 _I wonder how Timmy will react when he finds out that the UNSC had laid claim to what he's been working so hard to do._ Then again, she also should be mad but they were doing all the heavy lifting here and she highly doubted the _Normandy_ would survive if what they said about how many Collector cruisers there were was true.

And if the Collectors weapons gave these technological advanced humans and aliens pause then it was understandable how the SR-1 got chewed through easily.

Better let the ones who were willing, albeit ordered, to take the brunt of the attack while she did what she needed to do and see what the Collectors are actually up to.

And if they really wanted the base then they can have it. Personally, Shepard would rather not set foot on it but if she just left the UNSC to their devices then the past few months would have been for nothing and she wasn't about to let all that hard work go to waste.

"So what's the plan?" Jane stated aloud, wanting to get to the point.

"Ah I like that attitude!" The Captain pointed at her like she was an enthusiastic child and he the teacher.

"Tell me, before we get started of course; are any of your crew claustrophobic?" He then asked with a maniacal grin that made her internally shiver.

-()-

Admiral Eckhart Eichwald of the UNSC First Fleet was livid. Not at his crew. Or anyone under his command as a matter of fact.

It was at the Covenant Remnant Fleet not two million kilometers from his fleet.

And the fact that it was massive. Roughly the same size as the First Fleet, if not a little bigger.

No, but these were minor details in the grand scheme of his anger.

It was the commander of the Covenant Remnant Forces that had him pissed off.

Atriox, War Chieftain of the Banished forces in and around the Forerunner world shield world probably of all the Banished forces. Proving that not only were the Jiralhanae or brutes in fact not extinct but were prospering and out for revenge against the UNSC and Coalition.

In fact, the only reason they haven't gotten in an outright engagement is because Atriox was just as surprised to see the Admiral and vice versa.

This Brute commander was witty and clever. He had remarked that he " _had not planned on engaging the UNSC for another couple years_ " and added in a completely nonchalant voice, _"Might as well start getting my hands dirty now._ " And the transmission promptly shut off.

It was his tone of _confidence_ not arrogance that set him off. The damn ape had the nerve to be confidently assured that that his fleet could handle some of the UNSC's finest.

"Sound General Quarters!" He barked. Even though he was of heavy German descent, his time in the military had certainly gotten rid of his heavy accent.

"Sir, if I may?" The voice of Arty broke through the ensuring chaos as red lights enveloped the bridge as well as the shutting of the blast shields that allowed them a view of the outside. The Admiral turned towards the Smart AI.

"Yes?"

"We aren't in any position for any major combat deployments. While we have the munitions, we just don't have the supplies for a sustained battle."

He moved closer to the AI that had its avatar as an ODST in full battle dress uniform. "Arty, what are the estimated outcomes?"

The AI paused he clearly didn't expect this question but answered nonetheless quietly. "The opposing fleet is massive. Numerous battlecruisers as well as destroyers, a couple assault carriers as well as the supercarrier.

If this battle drags out, we will be looking at the decimation of the First Fleet."

The Admiral grimaced. "And if we concentrate on making this as quickly as possible?"

"A pyrrhic victory at best, even if we put the _Reach_ at full production capacity we don't have the time to produce enough. At worst? Again, the decimation of the First Fleet. We simply don't have the resources to fight right now. My suggestion? Retreat. Inform High Command of the threat, get resupplied and reinforced." The AI stated

Arty continued. "Even if we were fully supplied, there are a greater number of ships here and no doubt more on the way now. We will most likely be outnumbered five to one by the end of the day and ten to one by the end of the week."

He sighed and thought for a moment. He knew he was caught between a rock and a hard place. On one hand if he could kill Atriox now that would be a severe blow to the rest. But that was a huge if.

The readings he was getting on the supercarrier also didn't give him much hope.

But on the other hand if he left, he would be giving them a chance to regroup.

Oh the woes of being an Admiral.

He turned and hoped he made the right decision. "Belay my last!" He barked out. The immediate pause in everyone's current action was noticeable; they all looked towards the Admiral as if he was crazy. _They probably all thought I was going to lead them to victory with minimal casualties._ He thought to himself.

After all being an Admiral of a prestigious fleet was no easy feat. One could have all the connections in the military and it still wouldn't be enough to become Admiral of the First Fleet.

"Bring the ships about and get us to nearest colony world! Prepare defenses to be deployed as soon as we arrive!"

They paused at his words. It was relief to know that they weren't listening in on the conversation between him and the AI.

When none responded to his order, he shouted in a more authoritative tone and air and _in_ his heavy German accent that he reserved when his subordinates disobeyed commands _._ " _Move!"_

That did the trick.

-()-

 _ **And there you have it.**_

 _ **I wanted to integrate the new Covenant faction somehow and this was the product also the name Atriox is damn cool if you ask me.**_

 _ **Can you guess what the strange UNSC captain has in mind? Let me know in the reviews! If any of you can guess (shouldn't be that hard) the first one gets a piece of candy!**_

 _ **Until Next Time!**_


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